


Age of Ultron But Better Because of Quake and Black Widow

by marysuepoots



Series: If Skye Had Met Black Widow [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Tower, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), BAMF Skye | Daisy Johnson, Bisexual Skye | Daisy Johnson, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Natasha Romanov, Protective Natasha Romanov, Skye | Daisy Johnson's Superpowers, What-If, daisy and the avengers, skye meets the avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26329819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marysuepoots/pseuds/marysuepoots
Summary: Agent Daisy Johnson and her team are infiltrating Sokovia in order to bring in the 'inhuman' Maximoff twins, but SHIELD aren't the only ones interested in the Hydra base. Skye is the last person Natasha Romanoff expects to see drop out of the sky in Sovokia, but the game has changed and the Avengers will need Quake on their side.The third work in the 'If Skye Had Met Black Widow series'.
Relationships: Natasha Romanov/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: If Skye Had Met Black Widow [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/805542
Comments: 224
Kudos: 802





	1. What happens in Sokovia...

**Author's Note:**

> This work may be include mature scenes but I will add a warning before those scenes! Everything else is canon typical 12A content with maybe more swearing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing can go wrong with the Avengers and a certain someone raiding the same base...

Daisy pressed herself further into the cobbled stone wall as an explosion rocked through the corridor of the Hydra base. Dust rained from the ceiling onto the bedraggled team of SHIELD agents. 

“No surrender! No surrender!”

The rallying cry of the Hydra soldiers echoed around them. Hunter made a cross sign on his chest and clutched his gun. Bobbi was ahead, peering around the corner and waiting for assailants.

“I swear I’m gonna kill whoever gave us that shitty surveillance report,” Hunter seethed, “Oh we’ll just be in an out, secret tunnel under a Hydra base in the middle of bloody Sokovia. They won’t even know we’re here.”

“Not helping, Hunter,” Daisy grumbled, peering out the fort window. The base’s fortified shield was being pummelled with explosives from an object flying far too fast for her to make out. 

“My intel was good,” Bobbi defended, running back towards them, “They haven’t ordered the attack on us.”

“Then who?” Daisy asked.

“The Avengers,” Bobbi replied, brushing dust away from her eyes.

“Selfish brutes, the lot of ‘em,” said Hunter.

The heavy footfall of boots echoed further down the corridor, Daisy readied herself as two hydra soldiers appeared around the corner with guns drawn. Daisy raised an arm and quickly quaked them away. They flew violently through the air before cracking their heads against the concrete floor, guns smashing into the ground.

“Coulson, the Avengers are here what are our orders?” Daisy asked into comms.

“All agents retreat. Do not engage,” Coulson ordered, barely audible through the crackle of static.

“Copy that,” Daisy replied, before wincing at a piercing frequency emitting from comms. She tore it out her ear before nodding to Bobbi as they backed up the way they came. They flew down winding corridors, taking down three more Hydra agents as they sprinted to freedom. They entered the last chamber, Bobbi quickly pressed on the brick to open the secret door, revealing the passage behind.

A loud sound whipped through the air behind them and something or _someone_ very fast shot past them, knocking Hunter straight to the ground. He bent over wheezing as Daisy and Bobbi hoisted him up to his feet.

Daisy felt the vibrational presence of another person in the room and whipped around just in time to see one of the inhuman twins, her eyes glowing an ominous red. Her hands were crackling with red energy, which she lifted to blast towards them. Daisy lifted her arms to shield against it, manipulating the vibrations around them to create a shield. The red telekinetic energy dispersed before it hit them, but Daisy cried out from the pressure.

“You two go,” Daisy ordered to Bobbi as she levelled eyes with Wanda Maximoff.

“No, we’re not leaving you,” Bobbi protested.

Daisy pushed them away, before sending them through the door with a quick blast. They stumbled back down the passage steps as she quaked a portion of the ceiling. She rolled out of the way as the ceiling collapsed and blocked the entrance with a pile of rubble.

Wanda cocked her head curiously as she watched Daisy from the entryway.

“You are not with the Avengers,” she stated.

“No,” Daisy replied, “I’m an inhuman – just like you. I’m here to help you.”

Wanda, to Daisy’s surprise, began to laugh – humourlessly, but a laugh all the same.

“I am not an Inhuman,” she said, “and I do not want your help.”

She made a snapping motion with her hands, red energy rippling across her fingers. Daisy flew backwards into the wall and barely managing to cushion herself with a quake as she slammed into the floor. She clutched her side, the breath knocked out of her and a dull ache throughout her back.

She pulled herself to her feet, charging toward Wanda. Daisy pulled her fist back and launched it towards Wanda, who managed to block and grab Daisy’s arm, but Daisy kicked out and swept Wanda’s feet out from underneath her. They both toppled to the ground, Daisy moved to pin Wanda but suddenly she disappeared from beneath her hands.

_She rushed to her feet. Afterlife. She was at Afterlife, the familiar red huts surrounded her, statues of random figures and the mountain range in the distance. A cool breeze blew across her face and the sun felt good on her skin. Mack stood alone in front of her, facing away from her in the middle of the empty pathway._

_“Mack?” Daisy called out._

_He turned around and raised the shotgun axe in his hands, “You’re a monster!”_

_“Mack? What? No,” she said, backing away. He raised the gun and she quaked him, sending him flying through the air. Suddenly she was on top of him, pinning him down, sending a quake through his chest. Horrified she looked down at her bloodied palms, this was Mack, what was she doing?_

_“Skye.”_

_She looked up to see Ward standing in front of her. She scrambled away from Mack, on her palms as she tried to put as much distance between her and him. He was wearing a strange high-necked coat and there was something otherworldly in his gaze. He walked calmly forward, and she was frozen – staring at him, he bent down and cupped her cheek in his hand._

_“We share a connection, Skye,” he said. She looked past him, May and Coulson were standing there – horrified with her. She moved to pull his hands away and a cross necklace fell out of her palm. She raised an arm and sent a quake blast at Ward._

She snapped back to reality, feeling the blast leave her hands. It shot into Captain America quicker than she had even processed that _Captain America_ was standing in front of her. He flew back and skidded to his knees, he set his jaw as he glanced up and Daisy’s eyes widened.

He threw his shield and she rolled out the way to avoid being hit in the chest, taking a minute to clear the fog from her brain. Steve Rogers caught his shield as it magnetised to his gauntlets. He stared her down.

“We have another enhanced in the field,” Rogers said into his comms, “Female. Appears to have some sort of earthquake powers.”

Daisy pounced to her feet; arms outstretched in surrender.

“No, I’m not-” she started to protest but didn’t have time to finish before he advanced towards her. He threw the first punch which she grabbed, but his other fist smashed against her stomach. She doubled over and he grappled her towards him. She threw back her head into his and he released her. She dropped to the floor, sending a quick blast. He flew back and smashed against the wall.

“Sorry,” she shouted behind her, sprinting out of the door and down the stone steps. She felt him in pursuit behind her, before something solid collided with her back, sending her tumbling down the stairs. She tucked herself in as May had taught her, landing at the bottom with a few scrapes and bumps but nothing too serious. His shield clattered at her feet. He appeared at the top of the stairs and she sprinted to the other side of the room before skidding to a halt at the entrance to an open archway. There was a long drop below.

She worked vibrations underneath her, building up the pressure just as Rogers leapt to the bottom of the stairs. She pushed harder and shot up into the air, leaving Captain America just a speck below her. She flew up and into an arch, breaching the space above the base before beginning to fall down toward the snowy forest below. Her stomach dropped as she fell fast, and she noticed in her peripheral Mjolnir was propelling towards her in the air. She reached out to blast it away from her, but the force jerked her in the air. She struggled to right herself as she plummeted down toward the earth.

On impact, she sent out a vibrational field to cushion her fall, creating a huge blast crater in the snow. She fought to her knees from where she had been sprawled out on the ground, clutching her side that had taken most of the impact. Her gauntlets had held up until the quake jump but her arms were aching with the strain. She heard yelling to her right and grabbed her ICER. Three perimeter guards rushed forward with guns, but she took them out swiftly with her gun.

She just needed to head north to where the Quinjet was cloaked –

“Got eyes on the enhanced, north side.”

She whipped around, ICER raised toward the voice. It was Natasha Romanoff, her own gun trained on Daisy. Daisy dropped her gun to the floor, raising her hands in surrender, meeting Natasha’s shocked expression with one of her own.

“Skye?” Natasha gasped, mostly confused and mostly in awe. Her gun didn’t waver in her hand, but she frowned. Skye’s hair was cut short above her shoulders and she was dressed in a tactical field suit not unlike her own, except the silver gauntlets on her arms.

Iron Man flew past in a blur, shooting a taser out of his gauntlets and into Daisy, who jerked violently and collapsed. She convulsed until she suddenly stopped – unconscious.

“Tony!” Natasha cried out in shock, running toward the motionless girl sprawled out amid the snow.

“Oh, I’m sorry, was I _not_ supposed to do that?” Tony retorted, flying away to cause some more explosions.

Natasha reached Skye and checked for a pulse, relieved to find her heart still going steady. She cupped her cheek, and moved some hair out of her face, a nasty gash running down her temple. She bent down and scooped Skye up into her arms, head lolling against her shoulder. She shuffled her in her arms and made her way back to the Quinjet. 

She had a lot of questions to ask.


	2. The name's Johnson. Daisy Johnson.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers have some questions for the mysteriously powered individual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Daisy pre-season 3, because events move fast in S3 and she'd unlikely have the time for fighting Ultron. Some events and pieces of information like the ATCU are probably not entirely accurate to the timeline of the show but it’s as close as I can get whilst moving the story along! Also, yes I know that apparently the official acronym for ATCU is Advanced Threat Containment Unit but Alien is more accurate anyway.

Natasha checked Skye's pulse as she adjusted her in her arms. She ascended the ramp to the Quinjet, Skye’s head gently knocking under her chin and hair tickling her neck. She caught eyes with Steve, who stood at the top of the ramp to count them in. 

She was the last to arrive back - Thor was hovering over Clint on the medtable, Tony was readying for take-off and Banner was sat in the corner listening to calm opera - or something.

“You know her?” Steve asked, gesturing to the girl who had attacked him, cradled in Natasha’s arms.

“Previous work colleague,” Natasha answered, manoeuvring Skye into a seat on the jet, buckling her in to prevent her from falling out mid-flight. He pressed the button to raise the ramp and watched Natasha with crossed arms.

“Care to elaborate?” Steve questioned; eyebrow raised.

“Last time I saw her she was an untrained, unenhanced consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D,” Natasha explained, reaching for the pair of gauntlets on Skye’s field suit. She slid them off, surprised at the bruises evident on the skin underneath and handed them over to Rogers.

“So, she’s Hydra?” he asked, frowning as he turned the gauntlets over in his hands.

“Not necessarily,” Natasha replied, but reached for a pair of reinforced handcuffs, complete with an obnoxious Stark logo. She locked them over Skye’s hands. The Quinjet jolted as Tony lifted them off the ground and Steve safely deposited the gauntlets inside a case.

“You don’t think she’s one of Strucker’s experiments?” Steve queried, “There were two other unknown enhanced in the field with her. Abilities I’ve never seen before.”

Natasha cocked her head as she stared down at Skye, whilst asleep she looked remarkably alike the vulnerable rookie she had met only a few years ago. She could almost picture the memory of the sleeping girl under the stars in the middle of the wilderness.

“She had a clear shot at me back there,” Natasha contemplated, “She didn’t take it.”

Steve nodded and Natasha moved her attention toward Clint, who was stuck lying on the table, pretending to listen to Thor’s stories of past glories.

**

Daisy’s head was throbbing, and she hissed, bringing a hand to her head. She noticed they were definitely restrained, and opened her eyes, wincing at the harsh light of the Quinjet.

“The prisoner is awake,” Thor exclaimed, and Daisy’s vision came to focus on the _literal god_ standing before her. A quick glance around the room told her she must be in one of Stark’s Quinjets. At least someone had thought to buckle her in. She could probably quake her way out the restraints, but that didn’t seem like a good idea on a jet full of Avengers.

Black Widow joined Thor; arms crossed over her familiar black field suit as she stared down at her, expression unreadable. Her hair was cut short at her shoulders too. She was caught off guard - it had been a long time since Daisy had even _thought_ about Natasha Romanoff.

After that quick kiss outside of the café years ago (which was nothing eventful at all really) she was not naïve enough to think that a relationship with Black Widow was feasible, and so had thrown herself into becoming an agent. She had welcomed Ward’s advances when they came, and it had screwed her over – bad.

She had taken him to that same café, he had sat in the same seat as Natasha and it had made her sick to make any sort of comparison. Then they had killed Garett, discovered the Playground and she had no time for anything other than training and tackling Hydra. She had known Natasha was safe and working privately with Stark. Maria Hill had confirmed as much.

Captain America joined the gathering number of ogling avengers and she groaned internally, remembering how badly it had gone after she’d quaked him by accident.

“Let’s start with a name, shall we?” Rogers asked.

“My name is Daisy Johnson, I’m an agent-” she paused, considering the repercussions this could have on Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D, “I work for the ATCU.”

She saw Natasha frown at the name and narrow her eyes at her calling herself an ‘agent’. Lying to Natasha was definitely not the best move, but what choice did she have?

“AT what now?” said Tony Stark, idling over, never one to miss out on a gathering of more than two.

“Alien Threat Containment Unit,” Daisy clarified, “We had intel that Strucker had two Inhumans. I was leading a team to bring them in. I didn’t intend to get caught in the crossfires.”

This was in fact, a half-truth, whilst Daisy was leading a team to get the Maximoff twins, May had been leading a team to retrieve Loki’s sceptre. She could only hope they had made it out.

“Inhumans?” queried Natasha, “I don’t know the word.”

“It’s not public knowledge yet,” Daisy said, “At least not by name, but you must have seen the reports? Mysterious people with powers popping up across the globe?”

Natasha shared a glance with Rogers.

“There _has_ been an increase in reports of enhanced people,” he admitted.

“Well,” Daisy explained, “Inhumans, like me, are people who share specific alien DNA and, when exposed to a substance called Terrigen Crystals, can evolve in a process called Terrigenisis and gain powers.”

Natasha was listening with rapt attention, face betraying no hint of surprise. Daisy wondered what she was thinking.

“Terrigen crystals are illegal,” Thor interjected, face marred with a deep frown, “The Kree failed to create their abominations. Asgard made sure of it.”

“Lady Sif came to Earth after I activated a Diviner in a Kree temple. Their experiments worked,” Daisy proclaimed, looking down at the cuffs, “And you should probably talk to her more.”

“Lady Sif was here?”

“Hold up,” Stark interrupted, finger raised, “I think we should circle back to the part where you said _you were an alien_?” He looked Daisy up and down and raised an eyebrow.

“Like, one-tenth Kree,” Daisy corrected, rolling her eyes.

“Which is an alien,” Stark retorted.

“He’s an alien too,” Daisy argued, gesturing to Thor, “And I’m pretty sure Banner other there turns freaking green.”

“Can you do that?” Stark asked, tilting his head. 

“So, you aren’t working for Hydra?” Rogers asked before Daisy could defend herself.

“No, I was in Sokovia to bring in the twins. The Inhuman transition can be very overwhelming and the new powers very dangerous,” Daisy clarified, “And I’m sorry I attacked you. I was seeing things and I thought you were someone else.”

 **“** Apology accepted,” Steve said, “You have a mean right hook.”

“Could use you on our team,” Natasha offered, moving forward to unlock the cuffs. Daisy rubbed her wrists, tender from the slight bruising her powers had caused during flight.

“I should get back to my own team,” Daisy protested, “They’ll be worried about me.”

“Your team?” Natasha asked, eyes narrowed.

“At the ATCU,” Daisy added, meeting her gaze with a challenging stare of her own.

“Right,” said Natasha, “The Unit focused on _Containing_ Alien Threats. Like you.”

“I want you to hang around for a while,” Steve said, ignoring the obvious tension between the pair, “Get you checked in on our system.”

“You at least need to stay for the after party,” Tony insisted, glancing at his smart watch, “Landing in 20.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do we think Daisy can lift Mjolnir? Should she try at the party or should it be left unknown?


	3. Pokey Needles and Bachelor Pads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy is welcomed to the Stark Tower, Natasha wants to keep an eye on her and Stark is about to discover how good at hacking she is.

Natasha’s brow was set in a small frown, her hair covering most of her expression from Daisy’s view, the dim light of the Quinjet casting deep shadows under her eyes. Thor’s retelling of his extensive history with the Kree faded to background noise as she tried to decipher what Natasha had thought about her lies. Thor had wanted to know how she had met Lady Sif and she knew Natasha had been listening intently, despite watching over Clint.

Natasha glanced toward her, catching her staring and Daisy broke eye contact, fixing her gaze to the floor. She focused on the rhythmic thrumming of the Quinjet beneath her feet to ground herself and prevent the blush from reaching her ears. She turned to Thor but could feel Natasha’s scrutiny on the back of head.

“And house Kasius? Piece of work the lot of them,” Thor continued, “But I fought valiantly and crushed their hold against the Skrull faction in N-58…”

Daisy lost all focus on Thor when they flew towards the Avengers tower. Skye would have squealed, probably, but Skye would also have been excited to listen to Thor. The sun glinted off the windows of the tower, stretching tall amongst the high rises of Manhattan.

“So cool…” she marvelled, watching the rest of Manhattan around her as Stark made a steep turn. Steve strode over to the doors, hand on a handle to steady himself as he waited for them to land and the hangar doors to open.

“Never gets old,” Steve remarked to Daisy, giving her a soft smile. She maintained eye contact, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

The hangar doors opened, and Clint was wheeled out, Natasha hot on their heels as they prepped him for medical care. Daisy stood up from her seat as Maria Hill ascended the ramp – clipboard in hand and face stern. Her face betrayed her surprise to see her there, but she schooled her expression and tilted her head.

“Agent Skye?” she greeted, giving her spare hand for Daisy to shake. Daisy returned it firmly.

“It’s Daisy now,” Daisy corrected, stepping out of Thor’s way as he marched out with Loki’s sceptre under his arm. Hill’s steely gaze assessed her from head to toe and she shifted awkwardly, crossing her hands in front of her, feeling self-conscious at Hill’s analysis.

“I was wondering why Rogers requested an information report on a Daisy Johnson,” Hill remarked, adjusting the clipboard in her arms, “I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear my search yielded no results. A new alias?”

“Something like that,” Daisy replied, crossing her arms. Steve came to stand at her side.

“Daisy works for the ATCU, we picked her up on the mission, she says her team were after the enhanced,” Steve said, “What’s the word on Strucker?”

“NATO’s got him,” replied Hill, and turned to Daisy, “What do you know about the Maximoffs?”

“Not as much as I thought I did,” Daisy said, “Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Thought they were Inhumans but Wanda disagrees. Pietro’s extremely fast, Wanda has some kind of Telekenisis.”

“The file says they volunteered for Strucker’s experiments, so I can confirm they are not Inhumans,” Hill answered, “I’m afraid I don’t have much more than that, a more comprehensive list of their enhancements maybe.”

“You know about Inhumans?” asked Daisy. Hill raised an eyebrow.

“Hard to ignore when the United States government sanctions a new organisation for the primary purpose of containing alien threats,” remarked Hill, “At some point that raises the question of what alien threats the US think they need to contain. At any rate, the ATCU is quite forthcoming about the existence of Inhumans.”

Of course they were. Daisy tried not to let that anger show. Of course Hill was on top of the new organisations in play, whilst the Avengers had their heads in the sand. Did Natasha know?

“Steve, walk with me,” Hill ordered, turning on her heel. Steve looked apologetically to Daisy.

Steve called out to Banner who took off his headphones, “Take Daisy down to the lab, get her processed in the system.”

Banner nodded from his seat and gave Daisy a sheepish smile, “Guess you’re with me.”

**

Banner led her through the hanger floor, which was impressive expensive to say the least, swish and technology advanced, all polished metal and self-moving parts. JARVIS greeted them as they entered the elevator and Banner made no attempt to small talk with her. They stood in a comfortable silence, which Daisy didn’t mind at all.

They reached a vast open plan of the labs. It was expansive and the engineering capabilities looked endless, with all sorts of inventive looking machinery. She knew Fitz would love to get his hands on this. There were shiny polished metal tables and holograms displaying all sorts of programming, which she wanted to get her hands on herself.

Banner stopped outside of his bio lab, Daisy could see Barton inside some machine that looked like it was printing skin. Natasha stood by his side, watching over him and talking to the doctor. 

“How’s he doing?” Banner asked Stark who stood in the doorway.

“Unfortunately, he’s still Barton,” Stark quipped before moving to let them through.

“That’s terrible,” Banner muttered, indicating for Daisy to follow him inside. Natasha’s gaze followed them as Banner gestured her toward a metal chair by a table in the corner, giving her a hesitant smile.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t listening earlier,” Banner apologised, “What was your name again?”

“Daisy,” she replied, giving him a reassuring smile as she took a seat, “So what does ‘putting me in the system’ involve? No pokey needles I hope?”

He pushed his glasses up his nose as he rummaged around in a few drawers, “I’m afraid there will be some (small) needles involved, but I can assure you I’ll be as efficient as possible.”

Dr Cho was explaining to Natasha how the machine worked as Banner indicated for her to shrug off her jacket. She unzipped it and peeled it off, leaving her in her low-cut tank top underneath. The air was cool against her skin as Banner wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm, it squeezed her arm tight and he jotted down a reading before readying a needle.

“I see Banner’s already sticking you with needles,” Tony commented to Daisy, coming into the room with a tray of drinks on one hand and a small case in another. He turned to Dr Cho, and said sarcastically, “Oh no I think he’s flatlining. Might have to pull the plug.”

“No, no, no I’m gonna live forever,” Barton retorted, “I’m gonna be made of plastic.”

“Well, here’s your beverage, Barbie Boy,” Tony quipped, handing out his drink. He glanced toward Daisy, who winced a little as Banner slid a needle in and began to draw blood.

“How much are you taking?” Daisy muttered, watching Banner swap out one blood tube for another.

“One’s for analysis, one’s for records,” Banner explained, setting aside the tubes before pulling out the needle. He placed a bandage on her arm, ordering her to put pressure on it while he scanned his sample into a machine.

Stark placed the case down onto a nearby workbench, flipping the lid to reveal Daisy’s gauntlets. He plucked them out, turning them in his hands as he examined them.

“What are these for?” Stark asked her, weighing them up in his hands.

“My powers can do damage to my arms when I use them,” Daisy explained, “Fitz designed these to help cushion the damage and absorb the vibrations.”

Stark made an impressed face, whilst Banner held up a cotton swap in front of her.

“Say ‘ah’,” Banner ordered as he stuck the swab in her mouth. She grimaced but he was done quickly, placing that too into his machine for analysis.

“Well whoever this Fitz is, he’s done a cracking job,” Tony praised, prying open one of the metal panels to reveal the circuitry underneath, “Could do with an upgrade though, perhaps some Vibranium…” he muttered some other things to himself before chucking the gauntlets back into the box, closing it with a snap.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll keep these,” he said, leaving no room for a response from her before turning on his heels and walking out of the room.

The results from Daisy’s tests popped up on a nearby holoscreen and Banner adjusted his glasses, frowning at the structure of the DNA. He spun it around in his hands, examining the unfamiliar genetic markers.

“This is remarkable,” he commented, turning to Daisy, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Dr Cho, curiosity peaked, came over to have a look and said some very science things to Banner that Daisy had only heard thrown about by FitzSimmons. She shifted in her chair uncomfortably as all eyes in the room fell on her. Natasha came forward too, tilting her head at the DNA structure of the screen.

“So, you really are an alien,” she teased, giving Daisy a lopsided grin. Daisy looked down at her fingers and Natasha glanced down, brow furrowing at the hint of bruising around Daisy’s wrists and fingers.

“Was this caused by your powers?” she asked, picking up one of Daisy’s hands and turning it over to examine. Daisy shrugged, watching Natasha as she peered at the bruising.

“It’s not that bad, really,” she replied, “Just surface bruising when I landed.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow but dropped Daisy’s hand, instead lifting her hand up to Daisy’s head, fingers ghosting over the area of the wound on the side of her forehead, “You should get this cleaned up.”

She rummaged around in a few drawers beside Daisy, coming up with some disinfectant wipe and some medical glue.

“Hey Daisy,” Banner called, “Do all Inhumans have these genetic marker modifications?”

“All Inhuman DNA gets changed after Terrigenisis, but it doesn’t change in the same way for every person,” Daisy replied, allowing Natasha to clean the wound with a disinfectant wipe. Natasha was gentle but thorough and the small marks of concentration in her brow were rather endearing.

“Fascinating,” Banner remarked, pulling up his own DNA file to compare the changes against hers.

Clint groaned from inside the machine and Daisy turned her head to look, but Natasha curled her fingers hand under her chin, turning her back towards her. Daisy squashed down the flurry of butterflies that fluttered at the gesture.

“Stay still,” Natasha admonished gently, “Barton’s fine. He’s just upset you’re getting all the attention. The little drama queen.”

Natasha turned to stick her tongue out at Clint, who flipped her off and continued to sip his drink through his pout. She began applying the glue to seal the wound, her hands were warm against her Daisy’s skin. Natasha glimpsed away from the wound for a second and Daisy looked away, catching eyes with Bruce who was leaning against the medtable, watching them.

“You two know each other?” He questioned, fiddling with the tablet in his hands as hovered awkwardly close by.

“I was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D,” Daisy answered, “We met on a mission that went pretty FUBAR.”

“I don’t remember you being an agent at the time,” Natasha scoffed, “I think the term of choice was consultant?”

“Consultant, then,” Daisy agreed, rolling her eyes.

Banner nodded and Natasha stepped away from Daisy, who didn’t want to admit she missed her touch. Banner stepped forward, bringing the tablet up to Daisy’s face, a holo-scan taking a reading off her face. He made her use a fingerprint scanner for all of her fingers, before inputting some data and flashing her a smile.

“You should be sorted into the system now,” he reassured, “I’m sure Stark has a spare room for you here.”

“I’ll take her,” Natasha offered, picking up a tablet nearby and examining the tower blueprints, “Looks like Sleeping Quarter 8 is free.”

Daisy shrugged on her suit jacket, Natasha’s eyes flickered down over her tactical suit, and she smirked, “Love the outfit.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, “It’s practical.”

“I know,” Natasha said. She turned on her heel and Daisy followed her as she led them through the lab. Stark was busy examining the sceptre and ignored them as they stepped into the elevator.

The doors closed and Daisy felt the atmosphere change, like the vibrations of the particles around her had taken on an extra charge filled with tension. Jarvis greeted them cheerfully. Daisy shifted her weight to her right, hands clasped ahead of her. Natasha pressed the buttons to the 81st floor.

“I know you’re lying,” she stated evenly, keeping her gaze on the doors. Daisy contemplating saying nothing at all, but the pressure of silence felt uncomfortable in her chest.

“About what?” Daisy challenged; eyebrow raised as she turned towards Natasha.

“You don’t work for the ATCU,” Natasha stated, matching her stare. “You wouldn’t work for an organisation run by the US Government that wants to contain people like you.”

“You don’t know me,” Daisy said simply, looking away.

“You’re right,” Natasha responded, voice cold, “I don’t know you, _Daisy_.”

 _‘And I don’t trust you_ ’. She didn’t say it, but the sentiment lingered in the air.

“You have arrived at the 81st Floor, Sleeping Quarter 8,” JARVIS announced, “Please enjoy your stay, Miss Johnson.”

The doors opened to reveal a gorgeous open-plan apartment floor, with wooden panels and soft carpeted floor. A kitchen with a sleek island bar _and_ a fridge with a water dispenser – the kind Daisy always thought you only had if were rich. There was a comfy-looking living room, with a matching blue colour scheme. It was obvious there’d be at least one bedroom and a bathroom. It was huge and the impressive wall to floor windows gave her a view that _almost_ distracted her from the cold stare of the assassin next to her.

“My floor is just above,” Natasha said, “I’ll be there if you need anything.”

 _‘Or to keep an eye on me’,_ Daisy thought, but nodded in acknowledgement. 

“Pepper stocks these rooms with spare clothes and things, in case of unexpected guests,” Natasha explained, “You should find what you need, but you can always come to me if you’re willing to share.”

Daisy knew she wasn’t talking about sharing clothes, or well, maybe she was but either way she wasn’t inclined to accept.

“I’m good, thanks,” Daisy responded, and Natasha took her queue, swiftly turning away and walking into the elevator without a backward glance. Daisy ignored the sinking feeling in her chest as she flopped down onto the sofa, her muscles melting into the soft material.

**

Daisy found the clothes Natasha was referring to – and was currently sat on the sofa eating cereal, enjoying the view of Manhattan whilst wearing the softest black shirt and cargo pants she had ever felt. The shower had been glorious, and the shampoo was some salon-type of deal that made her hair feel soft and silky.

What would it be like to be a full-time Avenger? To go home to a plush apartment, designer clothes and expensive shampoo instead of a cold military base? To fight with superheroes.

 _Lonely._ She thought, already missing Coulson, May, Mack, Fitz, Jemma… God, Jemma was still missing. She should be there, helping to find her and get her back. She should be taking orders from Coulson, not Rogers.

With a sigh she put down the empty bowl of cereal and stood up, moving over to the workstation area where there was a Stark laptop atop the desk. She folded herself into the desk chair, legs tucked underneath her as she fired up the machine.

There was a fingerprint scanner that allowed her access, but a quick scan revealed that all activity was monitored by JARVIS. Although that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing…

“JARVIS?” she called out.

“Yes, Miss Johnson?” came the immediate reply for the disembodied voice.

“Activate authorisation access point Skye.net,” she commanded.

“My system indicates that a password is required to execute your request for access point Skye.net,” replied JARVIS.

“LND6405#21_SML,” said Daisy, smiling slightly. It was a cute password really, just her old van’s license plate, her age at the time and the letter S for Skye and ML for Miles.

They had worked together to hack JARVIS; Miles had kept Stark running in circles whilst she dug for information on Project PEGASUS.

“Access authorised,” JARVIS remarked to her surprise.

They had implemented major red herrings to cover-up the access point, but she had honestly expected him to discover it and close it.

She got to work straight away, sending an encrypted message to both May and Coulson, telling them that she was okay, she was posing as ATCU and awaiting extraction from the Avenger’s tower.

Piece of cake.

**

“We need to re-model the programming based on the firing of synapses,” Banner said, “Replicate whatever is inside this.”

Banner had his chin in his hands, pacing as he examined the hologram of the sceptre’s core.

“Exactly,” Stark agreed, “Re-programme using code as pulses, have Ultron think in real-time, make decisions based on cause and effect _without_ the need for specific algorithms. It could _create_ new ones based on its own experiences.”

“A fully conscious computer,” Banner marvelled.

They jumped as an alarm blared throughout the room, the screens surrounding them flashed red, a message displayed across the screen with ‘Skye.net accessed’.

“Skye.net access point has been authorised,” JARVIS informed them. Stark’s brow furrowed.

“Can you get me a read on their location?” he asked. He had been waiting for the hacking bastard to pop up again, keeping the access point open only so he’d know if they tried again. They were good, _very_ good and he either wanted to hire them or take them out of the competition.

“The 81st floor,” JARVIS responded.

“Of which building?” Tony answered back testily, flexing his fingers, ready to spring into action.

“This building, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks you so much to everyone for your wonderful comments! I should really get into the habit of replying to you all, but know I appreciate every single one of them, hope you enjoyed this chapter xx


	4. Stark Recruits Daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stark recruits Daisy, for better or worse...

“Lockdown of floor 81 has been initiated,” JARVIS announced. Daisy jumped up from the desk, abandoning the laptop in front of her in surprise as a thick shutter came down across all of the windows.

“Please remain calm and await instructions,” JARVIS continued.

The elevator numbers were counting down towards her floor as she held her arms up in a fight stance, prepared to fight whatever battle was waiting for her. The elevator slid open and Tony Stark emerged, flanked by a flustered Banner. Daisy knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and lowered her hands.

“You,” he said, pointing accusingly Daisy as he walked forward, “You messed with JARVIS. How.”

“I was just sending a message out to my teammates,” Daisy explained, “Needed it encrypted.”

“I mean, _how_ ,” Tony repeated, “How did you know about the access point? Are you in cahoots with someone?”

“I know about the access point, because I made it,” Daisy said, “Years ago. I was young and made some bad choices, hacked into places I shouldn’t. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Tony said, looking affronted, “That was one of the most impressive hacks I’ve ever seen. Took me minutes to flush you out of the code, and trust me,” he turned to Banner, “that’s _good_.”

Daisy allowed herself a little smirk, “Took me a while to pull together.”

“So tell me,” Tony said, leaning forward, hand steepled under his chin, “What did a girl like you possibly need to get from JARVIS?”

“Access to information on Project Pegasus,” Daisy answered, “I was part of the Rising Tide, trying to expose SHIELD secrets. That’s all I took.”

“All you had time for,” Stark scoffed, “You were good, but I still turfed you out before you could get more than a glimpse under the hood.”

“Actually, you turfed out Miles,” she corrected, “He was the one running you in circles with the virus. I was skimming your files and hiding the access point.”

Tony nodded, his eyes brushed over to the open laptop on the desk and he smiled.

“You thought the access point was still unprotected,” he stated, “That’s not very smart.”

“Not very smart leaving it open.”

“Well I did catch you red handed,” he countered, and looked down to his tablet, “JARVIS show me the activity log from laptop 5.”

A holoscreen popped up from the tablet, displaying no activity from laptop 5 for today.

“You think I don’t know how to wipe my history?” Daisy said, crossing her arms, “Look I didn’t do anything else. I just sent out a message. You’ll find it in JARVIS’ code, sent using Twofish encryption.”

“You’re going to prove that to me later,” Tony answered, before measuring her up, “but, I’m going to go out on a limb and trust you. Banner and I have a project that you should take a look at.”

Daisy hesitated, “Alright.”

“Don’t make me regret trusting you,” Tony said.

**

Natasha watched Daisy through the window of Banner’s lab. Daisy was sat on top of a workbench, tapping away at a laptop as she talked animatedly with Stark. He was talking her through her a hologram of some kind of complex code. Banner was writing down some equations on a whiteboard, occasionally chiming in with their conversation.

“What do you think they’re up to?” Clint asked, moving himself off of the damned med table and coming to a stand next to her.

“Nothing good,” Natasha replied. Daisy must have done something impressive because Stark looked at her in surprise and zoomed in on a section of the hologram.

“Daisy seems to have made a friend,” Clint said. Daisy did indeed look comfortable, working in Stark’s presence.

“She’s a great hacker,” Natasha said, “Course Stark likes her.”

“Not just a hacker now eh?” Clint remarked, “Heard she packs a real punch.”

“Not quite the Rookie anymore either,” Natasha pointed out and cocked her head slightly, “A lot must have happened since SHIELD fell.”

“She’s still just a kid,” Clint said, as Daisy celebrated some kind of success, ducking when Stark playfully threw a rag at her.

**

“I’m working on the programming the synaptic response feedback and I noticed…” Daisy began, looking up from up computer to see Stark was absorbed in the piece of interface. She scrunched up her nose in annoyance and grabbed a grape from the packet she had been munching on.

She threw it and it hit him squarely in the head. He barely flinched and bent down to pick it up before popping it in his mouth and turning to her with a hand on his hip.

“I’m sorry did you need something?” Tony sassed, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, you said JARIVS had enhanced feedback capabilities, so I was wondering if I could get a model based on his code-”

“Toss me another grape,” he interrupted making a grabby gesture with his hands, and she chucked one at him, him trying to catch it in his mouth, “Sure yeah whatever you need.” He said through a mouthful.

Bruce put an exasperated hand on his hips when Daisy and Tony got distracted by a grape catching contest. Daisy cheered when she caught the latest one, doing a little celebration dance.

An hour later Daisy was yawning and rubbing her eyes at the laptop, hair ruffled from endless raking through it.

“You should try to catch some sleep, kid,” Bruce said to Daisy gently, “It’s getting late.”

Daisy looked to the clock, seeing it was past 1am already. She sighed, “Alright but you should take a break too.”

“You go ahead,” Tony said, peering up from over his computer, "We’ve not got the staff for long so I’m making the most of it.”

Daisy gave in to her tiredness and said goodnight, shuffling back to her elevator floor. Tony went straight back to his coding, but Bruce leant against a desk, arms crossed.

“She’s good,” Bruce remarked, “Smart, capable.”

“Whatever you want to say Banner just come out with it,” Tony bit back. Bruce sighed.

“We should tell her,” Bruce said, “She should know what we’re creating Ultron for.”

“We’ll tell her when she needs to know.”

Bruce was not enthused but went back to his work. It will all work out and won’t matter anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, for some reason I really struggled to get through these scenes, I have some more Natasha/Daisy scenes planned for next chapter xx


	5. Sparring with Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy spars with Natasha but do they trust each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update, I'm not abandoning this fic! Life just hits you like a freight train sometimes.

Daisy didn’t notice the shifting of vibrations that meant she wasn’t alone. All that mattered was her fist pounding against the firm punching bag, the kickback, the tearing of her knuckles. The aching ripple in her shoulder as she jabbed forward.

Pummelling the bag again, again and again.

_You’re a monster._

She needed it _out._ She needed the pain, the ache, the burst of adrenaline, forcing out the visions in her head. Mack on the ground. Coulson and May’s horrified face. Something nagged at her, something missing, something like grieving. _Ward_ , gloating and smug and so utterly punch-able. Except she hadn’t wanted to punch him in her vision. It was disturbing.

She felt the vibrations kickback at her every time her fist hit the bag. The bag swinging with every hit. She needed out. She punched harder. Hook. Uppercut. Cross jab. No space for thinking. Only driving her first forward. Sweat dripping from her brow, her shoulder, her shirt sticking to her back. She needed to punch harder, and harder and _harder_ -

The force of the quake behind her punch sent the bag flying. It clattered against the wall. She stared after it, chest suddenly heaving for oxygen.

“That bag owe you money?” a voice asked. Daisy jumped, fists raised, and turned to face Natasha. She schooled her expression into one of caution, suppressing her surprise at the company. She rolled out her shoulders, trying to ease the ache of the overtaxed muscles.

The gym had been empty at 5am, even Rogers didn’t set off for his run until 5.30. She had tried Tai Chi but even that couldn’t help her shake off the nightmares. Trip haunted her in her dreams, her vision haunted her when she was awake.

“Just checking out your fancy Avengers gym,” Daisy replied, grabbing her water bottle off the ground and taking measured sips.

She suddenly felt self-conscious of the sweat glistening on her skin as Natasha continued to stare, her arms crossed, face beautiful even so early in the morning. Daisy eyed her from over her bottle, she was dressed for a work-out too, although she looked far more combat-ready than Daisy felt. The tight sports bra and leggings suited her _too well,_ and Daisy took another sip of her water to distract her wandering brain. She was an agent in a top-secret organisation and There was nothing between her and the Avenger.

“Well at least that’s not the only punching bag we’ve destroyed in here,” Natasha said, breaking eye contact to set up some sparring mats, “Rogers gets through at least three a day.”

“I’m sure Stark loves that,” Daisy countered, stretching out her legs. Natasha moved over to the table, grabbing herself some wraps. Her impressive arm muscles rippled as she wrapped the cloth around her hands. Her stomach was impressively toned, she definitely had _very_ nice abs. Not that Daisy noticed or imagined what-

“Want to go for a round?” Natasha offered. Daisy blinked and forced herself to look away. She could handle sparring. She wasn’t a babbling mess with a crush. She was a trained agent. This would just be like training with May, and Daisy could very well hold her own.

“Sure,” she replied coolly, adjusting the wraps on her own hands. The images of the vision were already beginning to fade as her attention shifted to the challenge ahead.

Natasha stood ready on the mat, dropping into a relaxed but ready fighting stance. Daisy joined her, readying herself and settling into the fighting stance engrained in her muscle memory. She could see Natasha calculating, watching, ready. Eyes glinting with the challenge. Daisy observed Natasha’s stance, she favoured her left, which probably meant she was right-handed. Daisy fought to steady her breathing, clear her mind, should make the first move or wait-

Daisy caught the fist aimed for her head but grunted in pain as Natasha’s punch landed on her stomach. A rush of adrenaline flooded through her as she ducked, swung her fist, avoided a kick to the head. She launched a fist forward, but Natasha caught her arm and twisted it behind her back. Daisy flung her free elbow back, hitting Natasha’s jaw. She stamped her foot down hard, twisted, flipped Natasha over her shoulder. Natasha rolled gracefully and sprung to her feet. Daisy launched forward with a fist, faked out, jabbed with an elbow. Natasha caught her elbow in a restraining grip, her chest to Daisy’s back, steady breathing in her ear.

Daisy threw her head back; Natasha broke the hold. She ducked, avoiding the swing of a fist and shuffled away, light on her feet. They circled each other. Daisy fighting to calm her heavy breathing whilst Natasha looked barely out of breath. Natasha eyed her, smirked and beckoned her forward. Daisy ignored how attractive the gesture was and sprung forward with a high kick, Natasha blocked. Daisy rained on the kicks and punches, but Natasha twisted and turned and did not leave her an opening. Daisy ducked, swung, got behind Natasha and her elbow was around Natasha’s neck and hooked a leg around her ankle and she could win-

The world spun and her back in the mat _hard._ Suddenly Natasha was right on top of her. A knee was pressed firmly on her chest, wrists pinned down. Her face was inches away, an amused smile on her lips. Her lips did not look kissable _at all_ and Natasha’s firm grip on her wrists definitely didn’t do inappropriate things to Daisy.

“You did good _ribka_ ,” Natasha praised, and Daisy felt her shift her weight and she rolled to the side. Daisy missed her as soon as she moved, “May taught you well.”

“Thanks,” was all Daisy could manage as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She regretted going so hard on the punching bag. It took her a second before she realised exactly what Natasha had said, “but Ward was my SO before…”

Natasha shot her a ‘really?’ look and the explanation died on her lips.

“I know a Melinda move when I see one,” Natasha said, eyebrow raised, “You don’t have to lie to me, Skye. I know you’re just trying to protect them.”

Daisy scoffed, “My name is Daisy, and I don’t know what your-”

“I spoke to Maria,” Natasha interrupted plainly, seeing the light of resistance spark in Daisy’s eyes, “She told me all about the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D and his merry band of misfits.”

“So, she gave away everything, just like that?” Daisy replied, letting the bitterness seep into her voice.

“I asked nicely,” Natasha quipped, but her voice grew softer as she continued, “Look I don’t know everything that happened after the Hydra uprising, but I know it can’t have been easy. Coulson trying to rebuild SHIELD? I think it’s noble – stupid, but noble.”

“It’s necessary,” Daisy defended, getting to her feet, “You Avengers just sit around in your cozy little tower with your cocktails and luxury spas, electing to ignore the absolute shit the world is going through until Stark decides something is worthy of his attention. We’re out here making a difference, fighting for the people _you’ve_ forgotten.”

Natasha went quiet, face pensive as she stared up at Daisy, “You’re not wrong.”

Daisy saw the sincerity in Natasha’s gaze, “This _has_ to stay between us,” Daisy ordered, “The more people that know about SHIELD, about Coulson…we’re too vulnerable.” 

“I can keep a secret,” Natasha remarked, leaning back on her hands. She looked relaxed, made it seem as if discussing a secret organisation was yesterdays’ news.

Daisy held her gaze, but said softly, “I know.”

 _I know because I read your file._ Daisy didn’t say it, but she let it linger between them. She knew Natasha understood because her posture tensed a little and something dark flashed in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by an easy smile.

“So, why the new name, Daisy? I like it,” Natasha asked, and Daisy sensed a tactic to change the conversation.

“Why does anyone have a name?” Daisy replied, “My parents gave it to me.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows in apparently legitimate surprise, “You found them?”

Although it might have been therapeutic to retell the twisted story of last year, Daisy felt no obligation to say anything. Not least when Natasha seemed intent to pry all on her own, anyway.

So she shrugged, tugging on her wraps and missing the comfort of her gauntlets, “It’s a long story,” she replied, “Want to go for another round?”

She held out her hand for Natasha to take – a peace offering, and Natasha took it with a gracious smile.

**

Daisy was good, Natasha observed. Even though the trained assassin was holding back, she wasn’t exactly going easy on her either. She could see the improvement of two years since they last spoke on the girls’ stance as she readied for action.

Natasha found herself almost missing the bright-eyed, naïve little Rookie she had protected in France. The girl who treasured her team and had no filter, who made mistakes but only wanted to be accepted. Someone who looked at Natasha without fear, without expectation and maybe even a little admiration. The one she kissed because she couldn’t resist that excitable little smile.

The powered individual circling her on the mat, with tense shoulders and eyes that have seen too much, seemed a world away from Skye. This girl, _Daisy,_ looked at her with measured caution, eyes that didn’t trust. Natasha knew she couldn’t change the harsh reality of time, people changed, people hardened like ships rusting under the constant pressure of crashing wave after wave. SHIELD had collapsed underneath them, somewhere along the line Skye had found her name, found an impressive superpower and learnt to face the world through the eyes of a trained agent. It was unfair for Natasha to expect she’d be anything less.

Still, Natasha could see that beneath the new muscle rippling on Daisy’s shoulders and the frown of concentration, she was still… _soft._ Natasha knew to peel back a person and strike where they were vulnerable. Daisy squared up like a trained agent, but underneath she was still the bold but insecure girl who wanted to save the world. She recalled Daisy’s playful interactions with Stark, the way she’d smiled and thrown grapes at the billionaire. People evolved, but their soul stayed the same.

Daisy flung herself forward in a complex kick-combo move but Natasha easily ducked and rolled, hooking a leg around Daisy’s ankle to send her sprawling on her back. Daisy recovered quickly and was soon back on the offensive. Natasha studied her body, watching for signs of her next move. Daisy certainly had much more toned biceps and her shoulders looked great in that tank…Daisy’s elbow landed on her stomach and Natasha forced herself to concentrate. She grabbed Daisy’s arm to throw her over her shoulder, but Daisy anticipated and evaded the move well. Still, when Natasha decided to call it, she climbed Daisy’s body easily, using her favourite move to pull Daisy to the ground by her thighs.

She manoeuvred quickly out of the intimate hold, once again pinning Daisy against the mat. Daisy was breathing heavily but chuckled out from beneath her, hair splayed out on the mat. Natasha liked the new hairstyle, it was cute, cropped short.

“May still hasn’t taught me that ninja move yet,” Daisy said. Natasha smirked, looking down at the girl. Daisy’s cheeks flushed. Natasha cocked her head, wondering if Daisy was still just as obvious about her crush on her or if time had dampened that too. Daisy broke eye contact and cleared her throat, shuffling from underneath the pin-hold.

Natasha removed her hold on the girl’s wrists and leant back, dropping her gaze from Daisy’s face. She frowned when she caught sight of Daisy’s stomach where her shirt had rucked up her abdomen. She knelt back, legs still loosely straddling Daisy’s thighs. She lightly traced the two bullet wound scars shining above her bellybutton, feeling the smooth texture of the large patch of skin. Daisy, hair still plastered to her face, furrowed her brow but didn’t stop Natasha from examining them.

“You should be dead with wounds like these,” Natasha murmured, fingers brushing over the scar tissue, “Would’ve perforated the intestines. Might’ve survived one shot, but two at close range?”

“I was…basically dead,” Daisy said, and propped herself up on her elbows, Natasha still knelt around her thighs, “Shot by Ian Quinn. Twice. I was on life support. Coulson went to the ends of the earth to save me.” 

“When?” Natasha asked.

“A week after we met-up in the café,” Daisy replied.

A spike of fear ran through Natasha, picturing Skye dying – in a hospital bed with two bullet wounds to the stomach. She could barely fire a gun when they’d met, what kind of idiot would put her in a situation where she would take two in a gut? She would have been so defenceless. She would have walked right into Quinn’s hands, into Hydra’s hands and her team had let her?

“Coulson let you out in the field again?” Natasha demanded, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

“I went in on my own,” Daisy shot back, voice harsh and she could see anger flashing across her face, “He did everything he could to save me. It was my fault for going in there alone. This isn’t on him.”

“But Coulson was the senior agent-” Natasha protested.

“It doesn’t matter,” Daisy interrupted, “None of any of that matters now. That SHIELD is gone. You don’t know any of what we’ve been through. What _he’s_ been through.”

She kicked out, shucking Natasha off from where she had settled, and Natasha let her. Watching Daisy as she got to her feet and turned away to fetch her water bottle. 

She wanted to reach out with an apology and began to sift through the right words to say, but Stark appeared to steal Daisy away for his pet project and she missed her chance.

She spent the rest of her workout calculating ways to gain Daisy’s trust and told herself it was because of the importance of assessing security threats. Not because fighting with Daisy left her with a sinking feeling that didn’t go away, no matter how many punches she threw at a bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, it was really difficult to map out this scene. The relationship dynamic is so much different now that Daisy has gone through S1-2 but I also want to try and keep the same feel to their chemistry? Like Daisy is still smol bean and Natasha is still protective top, but Daisy is now way more #trauma and I don't want an insta-romance. Please let me know what you thought and if you have any thoughts on the dynamic/what you want to see in the unfolding of the plot! 
> 
> Will be building up to the party in the next chapter and then soon we'll be back on track with the events of Ultron xx


	6. Little Triangle Sandwiches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha makes Daisy coffee 2.0

The morning passed quickly, and Daisy fell back into her newfound rhythm with Tony and Bruce. The work they were doing was fascinating, ground-breaking even, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something Tony wasn’t telling her. She caught them talking in hushed tones together, examining pieces of code that Daisy didn’t recognise and wasn’t working on.

When Tony shot her a nervous glance for the fourth time, she decided enough was enough. “Okay,” she announced, putting down her tablet with an air of finality, “You’re keeping something from me. Why?”

Tony looked up at her past the hologram and his typing stopped briefly, but he continued typing and didn’t look at her, replying in a calm voice, “What makes you think that?”

“Because I’m not an idiot,” Daisy replied and brought up the schematics of the code she had been working on, “This isn’t just an upgrade for JARVIS, is it? You’re building something new. Something weaponised.” She pointed to the pieces of code relating to ‘crisis avoiding’ and ‘affirmative action’.

Tony sighed and Bruce shot him a look that distinctly said, ‘I told you so’. Tony leant back on the desk; arms crossed.

“It’s not a weapon. It’s protection. A suit of armour,” Tony said, voice impassioned and face grave, “All we’re doing is using the data from more advanced tech to improve our chances of survival. Just _look at it_ ,” he urged, gesturing to the blue AI code, “This is miles ahead of where we are, and one day something’s going to come along with worse than this, and we need to be ready.”

“It’s _alien_ ,” Daisy argued, “An alien staff from outer space brought here by a power-hungry _god._ We barely understand this. I can barely comprehend the code we’ve already downloaded, and you want to turn it into a weapon? I’m sorry but this has bad idea written all over it.”

“ _Protection_ ,” Tony reiterated, taking a few steps closer to Daisy, “Remind me, who is it you work for again? Because I remember it included ‘alien’ and ‘containment’-”

“Exactly, that’s why we shouldn’t-”

“In 2008 an entire alien army invaded New York,” Tony bit back, in a clipped tone, “With more advanced weapons than we’ve ever seen. And you,” he said, gesturing towards her, “You _are_ an alien weapon, and god knows what else they can create. Every year we are on the _brink_ of extinction. I’m just trying to prevent that from happening.”

“Prevent something before it starts?” Daisy retaliated, arms crossed, “Like Project Insight? Does that ring a bell?”

“This is different,” Tony countered, “That was Hydra. We’re not Hydra. Don’t you have people you want to protect? Don’t you want to contain the threat before it’s even begun? Think - of the lives _you_ could save.”

Daisy shook her head, eyes looking to the ceiling as she let out an exasperated sigh.

“We’re playing with fire,” she said, “In my experience experimenting with alien tech never turns out well.”

“ _You’ve_ come out alright,” he bartered, “Look, I’m doing this whether you’re on board or not.”

Daisy ran a hand through her hair, weighing up her options, “Fine,” she relented, “But I want all the schematics. If we are doing this, then I want to be on the same page. No secrets. No hidden code.”

“I can work with that,” Tony agreed, “I want a second pair of eyes on my programming anyway. Make sure nothing slips through the cracks.”

“You should have told me,” Daisy reprimanded, but picked up her tablet. Bruce shot her an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry kiddo,” Tony replied, returning to his diagrams, “Now you know.”

Her workload intensified tenfold with the new information, Tony sending her broad chunks of code ripped from the download and edited to form new thought processes. In theory it should work, an AI capable of assessing alien threats and taking suitable action but she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that seeped in. She was already knee deep, with her original asset coding embedded too far into the programme to walk away conscience free. There was no changing Tony’s mind, better to be here to fix the mistakes before they were made.

If someone had told her years ago that she would help Tony Stark programme a weaponised AI she would have told herself to get a grip. She didn’t make weapons. Now she _was_ one. Now she had people she needed to protect.

The Kree were bad enough, they had to be ready for worse.

**

Daisy wandered over to the upper floor around lunchtime, seeking food and a break from the exhausting work and Stark’s unrelenting personality. She wasn’t surprised to see Thor already in the break room, sat at the long table gnawing his way through a huge stack of sandwiches. He raised his jug of juice in her direction as she entered.

“Lady Daisy!” he greeted, charming smile around a sandwich, “You must try these delectable sandwiches. They are cut into little triangles, see? I like that.” 

He offered his massive plate of little sandwiches to Daisy.

“Hey Thor,” Daisy responded casually, walking past him and snatching a sandwich off his plate. She still didn’t know the god very well, but he was very open and easy to like. He didn’t really seem to have a purpose in the tower, just liked to hang out with everyone, eat food and exchange stories. She regretted not being able to hang around others in the tower more, what with being focused on Ultron. She’d be leaving soon anyway. This wasn’t her place.

Steve Rogers looked up from his position at the kitchen counter, where he was diligently slathering his toast in butter. He nodded to her. In contrast to Thor, Rogers was more reserved, calculating, not exactly distrusting but cautious of Daisy. Daisy didn’t blame him; she did have earthquake powers and a patchy cover story.

“Keeping busy? I’ve not seen you around much,” Rogers asked politely, and pointed to the fridge, “Pepper stocks pre-made sandwiches on the top shelf.”

“Thanks,” Daisy grinned, opening the fridge to reveal a plethora of tiny triangle sandwiches, “Stark’s got me working on some pet project of his. He works like a mad man, a genius mad man.”

“Oh, you good at that kind of thing? Science?”

He took his plate over to the table and Daisy followed, folding herself into a chair opposite Thor.

Daisy shrugged, “I’m good with CS,” and clarified at his puzzled expression, “Computer Science. Coding, hacking that kind of thing.”

Natasha walked in, attention half buried in a tablet screen, but she glanced up and caught eyes with Daisy. Since that morning Daisy hadn’t been _purposefully_ avoiding her, but they had managed to avoid each other all the same. Daisy flashed her a small smile which was gratefully returned. She could swear she saw relief flicker in Natasha’s gaze.

“I’m afraid that’s all way over my head,” Steve confessed, and she turned back to him, “Is that how you discovered your powers? Through science?”

His tone was light, but she could see an attempt to pry more information out of her. Get a feel for who she is, where she came from. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Natasha listening into their conversation as she fixed herself a plate.

“Not exactly,” Daisy replied tentatively, “Not like Banner, or you, or Stark even. My dad, he was kind of…. disillusioned. He wanted me to ‘fulfil my destiny.’ He got entangled with Hydra, I ended up chasing them to a Kree temple. That’s when I changed and got my powers. It was hard, at the beginning. Still is, sometimes.”

“I can imagine,” Steve sympathised, “So that’s when you joined the ATCU?”

“More or less, yes. There are more of us out there, people who are scared and need help,” Daisy assured.

Steve nodded but his face was still set in a frown, “I’ve done some reading up on the ATCU, they don’t seem particularly friendly towards your kind.”

“I don’t agree with them,” Daisy said, “But they have access, resources, sanctions from the government. I can’t do all that on my own. If I can stop even one inhuman being shot on sight, well then I have to try.”

She was beginning to hate her cover with every fibre of her being but telling Steve Rogers she was actually an agent for an illegal organisation he helped bring down might not go over well either. There were so many holes in her story, and she saw Steve open his mouth to question her more, but Natasha beat her to it.

“Sometimes you have to work for an organisation you don’t agree with,” she said, “As long as you try to do some good. I mean, SHIELD was never perfect.”

Steve swivelled around to acknowledge her and nodded, resting a finger on his chin as he contemplated. Daisy shot Natasha a grateful smile for saving her and chomped her way through another cheese sandwich.

“Maria tells me you worked for SHIELD before the collapse?” Steve asked.

“I consulted for a mobile unit.”

Steve nodded, “Forgive me for my questioning. Sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust.”

“I get it, Rogers,” Daisy replied.

“Please, call me Steve.”

“Okay,” Daisy struggled to hide her smile, “Steve.”

“I for one,” Thor cut in, having listened quietly, “Believe Lady Daisy to be a valiant warrior. If what she tells me is indeed the truth, then Lady Sif had good words to say about her, I trust my Lady’s judgment. Her power could serve us well in battle.”

Daisy smirked, Steve raised an eyebrow, “I wanted to speak with you about that actually. How much do you know about your powers?”

Daisy shrugged, “It’s based on vibrations. Vibrating the space between molecules. I can you know, cause earthquakes if I want to or-”

“Throw people,” Steve added.

Daisy nodded, “Yeah.”

“Everything around us has a vibration,” Natasha chimed in, “Can you sense that?”

“Every object has its own frequency, but it’s like 1 million bees buzzing around me _all_ the time. It’s hard to think straight, and if I lose control…it’s bad.”

“We should do some training,” Natasha suggested, “See what you can do beyond throwing Captain America’s tight little ass into a wall.”

“I’d like to evaluate your strengths,” Steve agreed, ignoring her last comment, “See where they fit with the team.”

“Oh, I’m not joining your team,” Daisy corrected, “You guys do a great job Avenging and all, but I have a team already. I can’t stick around.”

Steve looked put-out, “We could really use you on our side.”

Before Daisy could argue with Captain America about not wanting to join the Avengers (what had her life become?), Hill stuck her head through the door and requested his presence. Hill caught eyes with her, and she wondered whether Hill had heard the conversation and knew when to interrupt.

He left with a reminder to train with him tomorrow, Thor announced he was leaving with a slap on the knee and soon Daisy was left alone with Natasha. She was still slouched over the kitchen counter, eating something healthy-looking. 

They caught eyes and Daisy cleared her throat, picking up her empty plate. She placed it in the sink, before turning around.

She blurted, “It’s okay you know,” at the same time as Natasha began, “I’m sorry-” 

They paused; Daisy chuckled.

“You don’t have to apologise, I overreacted,” she said, leaning back on the counter. Natasha nodded.

“I overstepped,” she stated, “I shouldn’t have.”

Daisy shrugged and hopped onto the counter-top, finding comfort in the high place. She swung her legs lazily, tilting her head as she studied Natasha.

“A lot has changed,” Daisy said finally, and grabbed a random packet of pop tarts, turning over the packet in her hands.

“Let’s start over,” Natasha suggested, spark in her eyes as she approached closer and offered her hand to Daisy, “I’m Natasha Romanoff. Former assassin, resident Avenger.”

“Well it’s lovely to meet you Natasha,” Daisy said lightly, taking her hand in a firm handshake, “I’m Daisy Johnson. Superspy, hacker, inhuman, voted biggest cereal buff in the 2014 annual SHIELD awards.”

Natasha’s hand was warm and squeezed her fingers lightly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Daisy,” Natasha replied. Her gaze was earnest and small smile on her face as she grasped Daisy’s hand. There a playful spark in her eye, her posture was relaxed – something Daisy noted seemed _almost_ effortless to the spy. 

“And _you_ can call me Nat,” Natasha said, gently releasing Daisy’s hand and turned toward the coffee machine on the counter to Daisy’s right. She remained about a foot away, “Coffee?”

“Yes please,” Daisy chirped.

“Black coffee, right?” Nat asked, reaching for a mug.

“Um, milk, two sugars actually,” Daisy replied. Natasha raised an eyebrow, and she couldn’t help the blush from rising to her cheeks as she admitted, “I was trying to act more adult, in the café.”

Nat smirked, and said in a low voice, “Were you trying to impress me?”

Daisy didn’t reply, but her reddening face would have told Nat all she needed to know. Even if she weren’t a trained superspy who could no doubt read her micro-expressions even better than Bobbi.

Natasha was suddenly in front of her, her hand reaching up by Daisy’s face. Daisy’s heart stuttered, those green eyes alight with amusement as she opened the cupboard next to her head. Her other hand was casually placed on the counter next to Daisy’s hip, solidly trapping her in place. Daisy got the feeling the Black Widow knew _exactly_ what she was doing to her. She didn’t break eye contact, even when she pulled out the sugar and set it aside. Her fingers brushed lightly over Daisy’s taped head wound.

She was taller than Daisy, especially with Daisy propped up on the counter and she had to tilt her head up to meet her eyes. A second passed between them in which anything could have happened, and Daisy would not have stopped her, until perhaps, the least expected thing happened. Black Widow reached out a finger and _booped her on the nose_ before turning back to the coffee machine. Daisy blinked.

“How long are sticking around?” Natasha asked, refocusing on the coffee.

Daisy’s mouth felt dry, but she tried to sound normal as she said, “I don’t know, probably until the party, Tony told me my presence was mandatory and he’s keeping me pretty busy at the moment anyway.”

Natasha finished making her the coffee and passed it to her, Daisy thanked her, swinging her legs as she took her first sip. Natasha finished her own and leant back against the countertop. She was about to suggest Daisy stay a little longer, but Tony appeared in the doorway.

“Oi kiddo,” Tony called out, “I need your eyes on something pronto.”

Daisy threw Natasha a mock salute and slipped off the countertop, “Duty calls.”


	7. Nightmares with a side of Earthquaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha calms Daisy down from a nightmare and works a little with her powers

Natasha awoke in the early hours of the morning, which wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for the light sleeper. Except her bed was trembling – her alarm clock skidded off the nightstand and smashed onto the floor. The lamp above her swung dangerously on the ceiling.

She shot up out of the bed, bare feet slapping against the cool wooden floor and she snagged her dressing gown off the back of the door. She raced into the lift, punching in the buttons for the floor below. The elevator was perfectly stable, and JARVIS happily informed her of the shock-absorbing properties of the Stark Tower as they shot down a level. She burst through the double doors of Daisy’s level, following the direction of the quakes to the bedroom.

Daisy was tucked inside a cocoon of blankets, twitching fitfully in her sleep – hands clutching a blanket tightly in her fist. Her face was scrunched up in an expression more closely mirroring pain than restful sleep.

“Daisy!” she called out, rushing to the bedside to shake her awake, “Wake up. Daisy.”

Daisy awoke with a gasp, sitting up straight in bed – almost colliding with Natasha. Her breathing was ragged – as if a bucket of water had suddenly been thrown over her.

“The building is shaking, Daisy,” Natasha warned her gently, and the ground immediately stilled as Daisy locked eyes with her. Her eyes were still wide open in shock, and Daisy grabbed her chest as if trying to calm a pounding heart. Natasha could see all the signs of an intense nightmare on the girl – shaking fingers, racing heart, heavy breathing, wide eyes.

She stood up from her crouch and folded herself on top of the bed, reaching a hand toward Daisy, clasping her arm gently.

“You’re okay,” she comforted, squeezing lightly, “Whatever that was it’s okay, you have control now.”

Daisy ran a hand through her hair, mussing up the already tousled hair. A strand fell in front of her face and Natasha gently tucked it back behind her ear before she could stop herself. Daisy still looked beautiful, even at 2am in the morning.

“Want to talk about it?” Natasha offered, a little afraid to encroach on Daisy’s mental walls.

Daisy sighed, a puff of breath blowing gently across another errant strand of hair, “It’s kind of a lot…” she said hesitantly.

“Hey,” Natasha said, “You’re talking to the expert in nightmare and repressed trauma.”

“We’re all kind of messed up, aren’t we?” Daisy pointed out, tilting her head as she considered the Avengers.

“Even Thor,” Natasha affirmed, “Even heroes have their demons.”

Daisy scoffed, “I’m no hero.”

“I think you are,” Natasha pointed out, “You went into a Hydra fortress just on the off-chance you could save two people. That’s a hero.”

Daisy ducked her head, humbled but disbelieving. Natasha leant back onto her hands and relaxed a little more on the bed. Intending to make Daisy feel more at ease. Daisy leant back on the headboard and looked down at her fingers.

“I lost a friend,” she began, “When I transformed. He ran into the temple – tried to save me. He destroyed the Kree crystal, but he couldn’t survive it. He died, thinking that I had too.”

Natasha’s heart ached for her and how vulnerable she looked, playing with her fingers.

“He was a good agent,” she continued, “And a great friend. I see him die in my dreams, over and over.” Her voice cracks and she buries her head in her hands, body shaking as the dam appears to break.

Natasha moves forward and brings her arms around the agent, enveloping her in what she hoped was a comforting hug. To her relief, Daisy returned it, clinging to her upper shoulders tightly as she struggled to regain her composure. Natasha rubbed a soothing hand on her shoulder blades and rocked them slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Daisy mumbled by her ear. Natasha only hugged her tighter.

“It’s okay, _Pchelka_ ,” Natasha cooed.

“What does that mean?” Daisy asked when she broke out of the embrace.

“ _Pchelka_?” Natasha repeated in question, and Daisy nodded.

“Little bee,” she explained, her face breaking out into an indulgent smile.

“Not little fish anymore huh?” Daisy teased, sniffing as she wiped the last remains of tears from her eyes.

“Oh no,” Natasha disagreed, “You’re still my little fish.” The ‘my’ slipped out unintentionally but she went with it, throwing Daisy her best smirk.

Daisy blushed and but narrowed her eyes, “I _can_ swim you know. Stupid mountain explosion caught me off guard.”

Natasha laughed, “I’m sure you can kiddo.”

They lapsed into a short silence – Daisy still playing with her fingers and once more Natasha wondered what could have been if things weren’t the way they were. She could probably close the distance between them, slide her fingers into Daisy’s hair and kiss her with as much passion as she wanted. Daisy would likely reciprocate based on Natasha’s readings of her and the undercurrent of tension that existed between them.

However, Natasha was not the sunshine and rainbows kind of woman she imagined Daisy falling for, she had walls that had walls. Although Daisy caught her off guard, the idea of letting someone in had always terrified her. A honeypot mission was an easy one – simply physical manipulation to reach an objective. Feelings? Emotions? Commitment? Daisy deserved better.

She slid off the bed and got to her feet, throwing Daisy one last reassuring smile, “Get some sleep, okay? Training starts at 5.”

Daisy groaned and Natasha fought not to smile. To her surprise, Daisy caught her hand before she could leave, “Thank you,” she said sincerely. Natasha nodded and turned on her heel.

Daisy was returning to SHIELD soon anyway.

*

Daisy yawned, barely able to move her hand in front of her mouth in time as she stumbled into the gym. Natasha and Steve were already there, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. Clint was there too, skulking in the shadows as he re-strung his bow.

“Good morning,” Steve greeted her, “Felt the earth shake a little last night.”

“Yeah sorry about that,” Daisy apologised, coming to stand before them, “Guess training might not be such a bad idea.”

Steve got her started with some basic exercises creating pulses with her powers and throwing things away from her. Clint looked on interested from a high beam in the corner and Natasha surveyed her with hawk-like intensity.

“How about detecting objects?” Natasha suggested, peeling herself away from the wall, “If you can detect different objects you could theoretically fight in the dark.”

Daisy contemplated it and shrugged, “I can try. It tends to be a bit noisy – I can’t separate individual frequencies very well.”

“How about you concentrate on me?” Natasha suggested, “Close your eyes, I’ll walk around the room and you tell us where I am.”

Daisy closed her eyes. It was a struggle to listen to the vibrations, she wasn’t lying when she said it felt like a thousand bees buzzing around under her skin. She normally had to push the aside to concentrate on anything – dampening and suppressing them just like she had tried when controlling her earthquakes last year.

She listened. It was like listening, but with her entire body, an extra sense that she could grasp but had no real words to explain it. It was like walking in a dark alley and feeling a person creep up behind you or standing in a dark room with a chair an inch away from you. Instinctual. Finding Natasha’s signature was fairly easy, and she realised she had been sensing it all along without attuning to it. She felt lithe and Daisy could make out that she was shorter than Steve’s signature which felt imposing.

Movement was always easier to detect – the shifting of vibrations around a moving object was always a lot more forceful than the minute vibrations bouncing between inanimate objects. She pointed to where Natasha had swung herself up in the rafter. She opened her eyes – catching eyes with the smug looking assassin.

“You’ve definitely only been scratching the surface of what you can do,” she said, “One day you could be stronger than the Mr America over here.”

Steve, to his credit, looked just as impressed, “And I’m all for it.”

The rest of training was passed by trying to detect and unravel the vibrations of different objects – once Natasha heard she’d once taken apart a gun it had flared all sorts of possibilities in her mind. Sometimes Daisy definitely miscalculated and the whole training room would shake violently, which would cause Clint to whistle appreciatively every time. Even though minute control of her powers seemed a world away, she was beginning to realise there were things she could train to do that would be invaluable to SHIELD.

*

It was tough work, and Daisy was mentally and physically exhausted by the time she trudged into Stark’s lab, freshly showered and changed into new clothes. He looked up from his desk – eyes bloodshot. He was wearing the same dark blue hoodie as yesterday and the staff had been moved to his lab table.

“Did you even sleep last night?” she asked accusingly, setting down his coffee in front of him. He took a sip and glared at her over the mug.

“Did you?” he shot back, “Miss Richter scale?”

She grimaced, taking a sip of her own extra-sweet coffee, “Sorry about that.”

“You’re just lucky I built this tower to withstand an explosion or two,” he quipped and swivelled in his chair to face her properly, “You okay though?”

She shrugged, “Right as rain. What’ve you got for me today?”

“Something exciting actually,” he said, seemingly reminded of something he had forgotten, and he kicked out, sending himself shooting in the chair towards another lab table. He picked up a pair of gauntlets and zoomed back over to her.

“I made you these,” he said, offering them to her.

She set down her mug, taking them from him with a look of surprise. She turned them over in his hands as he began to babble excitedly. They looked sleeker, made of smaller parts and shinier metal.

“These are made from a carbon polymer, the best shock absorbing material currently available,” he explained, “Of course I would have wanted to make them out of Vibranium, but unfortunately even I’m not rich enough to get enough of the stuff. Honestly the properties of that metal would be absolutely perfect – it’s able to store and absorb energy. I imagine you could store your power in your own gauntlets the possibilities are just…” he paused and recollected himself, “’ve repurposed some of the existing microthread, adapted the absorption plates, frequency plates and resonant processor units. You should be able to compress vibrations, protect yourself and aim much more accurately. These will endure much better.”

He paused and pressed a button on the gauntlets, “Plus they light up now, see?”

Daisy laughed, “Thank you, Tony.”

He waved her compliments away, “No problem, can’t have an Avenger running around without my gear, can I? I have a brand to uphold.”

“I’m not an Avenger-”

He shot her an unamused expression, “Kiddo you got earthquake powers, you’re one of the team. Now sit your ass down and help me code a peace robot.”

Daisy rolled her eyes but grabbed her tablet and joined him in his quest for scientific discovery.

*

“A guest has arrived for you, Miss Johnson,” JARVIS said. Daisy jumped, startled out of the chunk of code she was reviewing. Tony and Bruce shot her intrigued looks.

“You expecting anyone?” Tony asked, lowering his wielding goggles. Daisy shook her head.

“JARVIS bring me a feed of the lobby,” Tony ordered, and JARVIS did as commanded, brining up a CCTV footage of the lobby.

A man stood in the lobby waving to the camera, a dry-cleaning bag in his hand. A smile broke out on Daisy’s face.

“Let him up, I know him,” she said, “He’s on my team.”

“Okay Jose,” Tony replied, “But if he ruins my furniture, you’re both out.”

“Isn’t there a party going on tonight?” Daisy shot back, “I think you’ll have enough guests to worry about.”

Tony grumbled something about ‘civilians’ and ‘cosplay’, and ‘beer’. The elevator doors opened, and Daisy launched herself on the guest, who stumbled back in surprise but held her close all the same.

“I heard there was a party tonight,” Hunter drawled, and held up the dry-cleaning bag, “Well, the party has arrived.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I really want them to just freaking kiss but I also know waiting will make it all the sweeter. Sigh. Party scene next!!! Where Daisy tests if she can lift Mjolnir and Natasha goes full flirt mode at the bar.


	8. Revels and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy joins the party, Natasha decides she can have a flirt with her before she leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter ahead!

Hunter whistled as he surveyed the luxurious décor of her Stark provided bathroom, looking distinctly out of place among the white marble and indulgent furnishings. He proffered one of the dry-cleaning bags to her, leaning against the door frame as she took it from him.

“I could get use to this,” he commented, crossing his arms as he glanced around at the double vanity sinks.

“Don’t,” Daisy countered, “We’re not staying long.”

Hunter sighed, long and dramatic, “Quinjet pick-up has been scheduled for tomorrow evening. Plenty of time to nurse a hangover and get back to our five-star secret bunker.”

They could talk freely about SHIELD; Daisy had disabled the security monitoring on the apartment to ensure Tony wouldn’t be listening in to their conversation later. Although she could guarantee he had bigger things on his mind right now than spying on her.

She unzipped the dry-cleaning bag, pulling out the dress inside. It was all black, made of thick material that weighed quite heavily on the hangar, with an off-the shoulder neckline. From her rough estimate against herself, the front would likely fall to upper thigh.

“Bob picked it out from some rental,” Hunter explained, “Said nothing in your wardrobe was suitable for a Stark party.”

Daisy scoffed; her wardrobe used to be stuffed full of pretty dresses, but she hadn’t worn a dress in forever.

“Alright shoo,” she urged, pushing him away from the doorway, “I gotta get changed.”

He grumbled but allowed her to shove him away and close the door. She got changed quickly into the dress, smiling at the little encouraging note from Bobbi that fell out of the bag along with ‘suitable underwear’. She shook her head, wondering what Bobbi thought she was doing at the tower.

The dress fit, it cinched nicely at her waist and fell elegantly along her thighs. She felt secure in it, attractive, formal but not overly attention grabbing. Vague memories of a bright pink dress in Malta came to mind – the exact opposite of this. She still had a cut on her forehead, but the stitches were gone, and she could likely pass it off as a talking point at the party.

She opened the door, revealing a hastily dressed Hunter stood in the middle of the apartment -struggling with his tuxedo tie. She laughed at him and gestured that he was welcome to join her in the bathroom, ignoring his suggestive comment and waggled eyebrows.

“Not that I don’t enjoy your company,” Daisy began, deciding what eye make-up to wear from the make-up kit that Hunter had sourced from somewhere, “but why did they send _you_ to get me?”

“I’m mortally wounded,” Hunter replied sarcastically, putting a hand over his heart. She rolled her eyes and faced back to the mirror to apply some eyeliner.

“I have no previous ties to SHIELD,” he explained, “If they sent Agent May waltzing in here to pick you up, it’d raise more than a few eyebrows. Except of course, Black Widow keeps giving me the death glare.” He slicked his hair back in the mirror, “I’m worried she’ll kill me in my sleep.”

Daisy shot him a quizzical look; an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

“What?” he defended, “You don’t think Bobbi’s been shit talking about me for years? Those two go way back.”

“She knows Bobbi?” she exclaimed, surprised. She knew May had worked with Natasha, but the two of them seemed to make a lot more sense in her mind, considering Coulson was the Avenger’s handler.

“Darling, all the women of SHIELD know each other,” he drawled, “They’ve got some kind of slumber party thing going on.”

“I highly doubt The Black Widow goes to slumber parties,” Daisy scoffed, “You’re just paranoid.”

He raised his hands in surrender, “I’m just saying,” he said, “I don’t want to get on that woman’s bad side any more than I already have.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Daisy teased, “Just bat your eyelashes and use your incredible British charm. I’m sure you can convince Nat not to strangle you.”

“Thanks love, your confidence in me is heart-warming. Truly,” he remarked, before his eyes narrowed, a mischievous smile on his lips, “Since when did we get on first name terms with the Avenger?”

She threw a spare toilet roll at him, he caught it before it could mess with his hair, “Hey!” he cried indignantly, “It was just an observation, no need to get jumpy.”

Daisy smiled genuinely as he tried to look offended, but she could see the humour dancing in his eyes, reflecting her own. Warmth blossomed in her chest at the easy banter she shared with him. She missed this. His expression cracked into a smile of his own and he turned his attention to fixing his tie.

“You know I still haven’t forgotten that the last time we saw each other you quaked me through a doorway,” Hunter pointed out, “My ribs still hurt.”

Daisy only felt a tiny bit of guilt, “I saved your ungrateful ass,” and pointed out, “and _I_ still haven’t forgotten that time you shot me.”

Hunter’s expression fell, “You can’t seriously still be holding that grudge.”

Daisy shrugged, applying some product to her hair to perfect the curls, “I suppose we’re even now.”

“You’ve got to me kidding me,” Hunter grumbled, exasperated.

She hummed in reply, adding the finishing touches to her make-up and locating a pair of high heels to match the dress. With an indulgent twirl she spun around in the bathroom, feeling the flow of the material swish along her thighs.

“How do I look?”

*

Daisy looked gorgeous. Natasha tried and failed to not stare. She was _supposed_ to be listening to Rhodey retell a story, something about War Machine and a general.

The bright lights gave Daisy’s smooth skin a delicate glow. Short dark hair framing her face in gorgeous little curls. Her eyes were alluring underneath expertly applied dark eyeshadow and winged eyeliner. Her forehead wound, untouched by make-up, betrayed her fighting spirit. As did the definition in her lean shoulders, the neckline of her dress just shy of her collar bones. The rest of the black dress cascaded along her body, accentuating all the right places until it brushed the middle of her thighs. She was a killer combination: beauty and strength. Natasha’s true weakness.

Daisy clung to Hunter’s elbow; Natasha noted that she seemed to be using him as an anchor to ground herself in the overwhelming environment. It intrigued her to see Daisy so comfortable with Agent Morse’s…ex-husband? Current boyfriend? Fellow agent? He certainly seemed to be a work colleague of Daisy’s now, despite not being involved with SHIELD before the collapse.

It was smart to send in an unknown ally to fetch Daisy. She could imagine the absolute carnage Coulson would cause if he strode in right now. She pushed down the fleeting tug of sadness at Daisy leaving.

Daisy surveyed the room, catching eyes with Natasha. Her eyes lit up slightly, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips to find Natasha staring. Natasha winked at her, smiling to herself as she turned her gaze back to Rhodey, laughing at just the right moment to pretend she’d been listening all along.

She could still have her fun.

*

Daisy watched as Natasha turned back to her friend, a laugh lighting up her face as she focused on him. Daisy felt a small curl of jealousy in her chest at how effortlessly she could charm the people around her.

The bass of the booming party music thumped under Daisy’s heels as she took in the rest of the room. The two floors were crawling with a seemingly random mix of people – old war veterans and attractive young people. She supposed that’s what happens to the guest list when you mix a billionaire hedonist and a 90-year-old super soldier. She felt just as lost among the sea of unfamiliar faces as Banner looked – he had just hit his head on a low hanging lampshade and was playing it off as if no-one saw. 

She was saved from choosing a group to approach as Tony beckoned her over to the bar, where he stood, lightly conversing with Maria and Thor. Daisy had never seen Hill dressed in anything other than her field suit. She wore an elegant red dress and more eye make-up than Daisy had imagined she’d wear. As soon as she approached, dragging Hunter along with her, Tony pressed a flute of expensive champagne into her hand.

The conversation flowed easily after that, and she found she slipped naturally into teasing banter with Tony. Thor mentioned the revelry of gladiator successes and Hunter immediately sprung into a conversation about English football with the Asgardian. It was honestly an interaction she had never expected to see.

Sometime during a rant about Liverpool, Natasha’s conversation partner came to join them.

“This is Daisy,” Tony introduced her smoothly, “Daisy meet my best friend and comrade Rhodey.”

He reached out a hand for her to shake, shooting her a warm smile which she reciprocated.

“It’s lovely to meet you Daisy,” Rhodey greeted easily, “What brings you here?”

“An accident, actually,” she said, taking a deep sip of the champagne, “but I’m helping Tony with a project.”

Tony scoffed, and squeezed her side playfully, “She’s a superhero. Threw Captain America into a wall. A new baby Avenger to add to our collection.”

Daisy rolled her eyes, “I’m not a superhero,” she argued, “And I work for a private company.”

Rhodey looked intrigued, “What can you do?”

“Uh cause earthquakes mainly,” she said hesitantly, “But I’m not exactly… mainstream like the rest of you.”

“So, no super name yet, huh?” he asked lightly, “They call me War Machine.”

“That’s cool,” she complimented placatingly, “I’m not one for names.”

“Oh, I have one. I can see it now,” Tony quipped, using his hands to mimic a billboard display, “It’ll be Vibrator-Girl’s big debut.”

Daisy cringed immediately, almost choking on her drink.

“No _way_ are you calling me that!” she squeaked, horrified. Tony laughed, a deep resounding bellow that drew the eyes of everyone within a ten-metre radius. Daisy punched him lightly on the shoulder in retaliation.

Rhodey – thankfully - steered the conversation elsewhere.

She managed to slip away when Thor and Tony dissolved into arguing over their absent girlfriends.

*

Steve finds her quickly, beckoning her over to where he was playing snooker with The Falcon. She ducked her head nervously as she walked towards them but joined him all the same. He greeted her with an arm around her back – respectful but friendly enough. The Falcon finished potting his ball, and glanced up to them, flashing her an easy smile and playful twinkle in his eye. It reminded her of Trip and her heart clenched.

“So, who might you be?” he asked, leaning causally on his cue. He was one of the least formally dressed guys here and he seemed very at ease.

“Daisy Johnson,” she offered, tilting her head at him, “And you’re The Falcon.”

“The one and only,” he quipped, “But you can call me Sam.”

His eyes took in the closeness between them, he wagged two fingers at them, “You finally back on the dating scene, old man? She’s cute.”

Although there nothing between them, Daisy couldn’t help but blush a little, mainly at the fact he thought that they could be a couple. Captain America, Mr Save-Your-Country, and the hacker inhuman? Unlikely.

Steve chuckled lightly, “No nothing like that. We bumped into each other on mission in Sokovia, she’s been helping Stark out with a project.”

He scoffed, “Takes a special kind of person to work with that guy. What do you do?”

“Coding,” she said with a shrug.

He nodded and eyed her over his beer, “Cute _and_ smart.”

Daisy ducked her head and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Steve handed her his cue, “Wanna take a turn and help me win?”

Daisy smiled and took it from him, Sam scoffed, “Dude your rusty ass _knows_ I’m winning.”

Daisy rolled her shoulders and lined up the cue, concentrating it on a ball on the table. She had played a lot of snooker in her van days, skulking around bars and picking up free drinks from ambitious men. She found the right angle and the cue hit the ball solidly, sending it shooting into a corner hole.

Steve high-fived her and Sam nodded appreciably, “Nice shot.”

Sam went to line up his cue with his ball – a clean shot. An idea sprung into her head. She couldn’t help the cheeky smile from cracking as watched Sam frown in confusion – his ball moving away from the cue without even being touched. The white ball potted itself.

He looked around, paranoid, “Are you two seeing this voodoo business too?”

Daisy broke into laughter and Steve joined her, catching onto it.

“What?” he demanded, “You rigged this?”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” she answered coyly.

“How’d you do that?” he demanded.

She raised her hand and quaked Steve’s remaining balls into a corner.

“No fair, you got superpowers too?” he complained, crossing his arms and shaking his head. Although she could tell he was more impressed than annoyed.

Sam continued to win the game, but only by a tight margin, demanding that he deserved two penalty shots for Daisy’s cheating trick. Sam made it extremely easy to like him, and she could very much see him fitting in with her team at SHIELD if the occasion ever arose.

Daisy glanced around the room, suddenly remembering she left Hunter unsupervised. An amused smile curled across her lips when she sees Natasha whisper something in Hunter’s ear and his face turn pale. Natasha sashayed away and Daisy couldn’t help but stare after her.

When she tore her eyes from Natasha’s curves back to Hunter, she had to spring into action, abandoning the snooker game. _Someone_ had to stop him from taking Thor’s offer of potent Asgardian alcohol. Bobbi would never forgive her if she let him try that.

*

Maria Hill finds her taking a breather from small talk, leaning on the railing, and watching the party unfold below. Her head felt a little fuzzy from the alcohol. She hadn’t drunk much since joining SHIELD. She used to have an impressive tolerance; built from years of necking vodka to forget things she’d still rather not remember.

“Agent Johnson,” Maria greeted her quietly, stepping up to her. She spoke softly and they were close enough to talk without worrying about being overheard – even by an enhanced super soldier. Daisy glanced her way briefly before looking back over the party.

“You told Natasha,” she said, in lieu of returning the greeting, “I thought we were keeping SHIELD under wraps.”

“If I can remember correctly, it was _you_ who told her about Coulson,” she said lightly, no accusation in her tone, “She hasn’t said a word yet.”

Daisy pursed her lips, it was true. She had made that blunder years ago, not fully realising the weight it held for the Avengers. Of course, at that time Coulson hadn’t exactly been forthcoming.

“I’m impressed,” Maria said, when Daisy remained silent, “That was quick thinking with the ATCU cover. I contacted Coulson on your behalf, but he said he’d already received an encrypted message. You’ve turned out to be quite the agent.”

“Yeah well losing 98% of your organisation to Hydra nazis is quite the motivator,” Daisy said with a sigh, “It’s been a year.” She suddenly wished she had something alcoholic in her hand again.

“So I heard,” Maria replied, “Coulson never mentioned you were an enhanced. I suppose that happened around the time alien matter was found in fish oil pills?”

“That’s classified,” Daisy deflected, tapping her fingers on the metal bar.

“I guess I deserved that,” Maria reasoned, and redirected the conversation, “Hydra’s still out there, the enhanced twins are running free and I’m confident you don’t actually trust the ATCU. Neither do I. I could use your help and Steve has vouched strongly for you.”

“Coulson already helped you locate the sceptre,” Daisy pointed out, “He’s my director, I work for him. If he wants me to help you, I will, but it’s not my decision to make.”

Maria nodded, obviously not happy but not surprised, “He has that effect, huh? He was always great at rallying loyalty.”

“He’s a good man,” Daisy stressed, twisting the ring on her finger that he’d gotten her for her birthday in July. Her _real_ birthday, “We want what’s best for everyone, not just the big leagues. This,” she gestured toward the grandeur of the party around her, “this is just a hobby for a genius who’s tired of fighting.”

“And you’re not?”

“Not when there’s still people to fight for,” Daisy assured, “I’m leading a team to help new Inhumans. People who are lost and don’t deserve to be catalogued by a government agency or ignored by SI until they’re already too much of a threat.”

Maria nodded, “I understand. The world is watching Stark right now and I have congress breathing down my neck. SHIELD is better off operating in the shadows.”

“Brigadier Talbot giving you grief?” Daisy joked, wanting to lighten the mood.

“Don’t get me started,” Maria huffed. Down below Tony motioned for Maria – and probably Daisy too – to join him in some kind of rowdy drinking game, “I better do some damage control. Tell Coulson I said hi.”

Daisy nodded, letting Maria go, and tried to relax some of the tension in her shoulders. The room still buzzed constantly with kinetic energy from everyone dancing, moving, the bass in the floor. She could sense Hunter sliding up to her before he moved into her peripheral.

“You seem pretty cosy with the Avengers,” Hunter observed, leaning over the railing next to her as he took a swig of his beer.

“Captain America keeps trying to recruit me,” Daisy admitted.

“First world problems,” Hunter remarked, giving her a wink, “Your old man misses you. Dread to think what he’d have to say about it.”

“Well it won’t be an issue,” Daisy declared, “I’m no superhero.”

Hunter only raised an eyebrow and took a swig.

_It wouldn’t be an issue, would it?_

*

Daisy flopped down onto the bar stool, more exhausted than she had expected to be tonight. The music had transitioned from heavy pop to slow jazz, the party beginning to thin out as guests returned home. She rested her cheek against cool metal of the glass bar, arms splayed out in front of her.

A delicate hand appeared and slid a bright red cocktail into her line of vision, “Penny for your thoughts?”

She glanced up to find Natasha smiling down at her, lips upturned and a little dimple in her cheeks.

“Depends,” Daisy returned playfully, sitting up, elbows placed on the table, “How much money you got?”

Natasha leant forward, an elbow resting on the bar near Daisy’s drink, just a hint of cleavage showing over her dress. “Plenty,” she replied, voice delightfully husky.

The air suddenly felt thicker, and Daisy much hotter. Natasha took a furtive sip from her glass, looking up at Daisy from under her lashes. The rest of the room faded away, and it was only Natasha. Her hair was glamorously curled, make-up stunning. She looked like a runway model. Daisy caught herself staring at her red-coated lips and swallowed to clear her dry throat. She glanced down, toying with the stem of her glass with a finger absentmindedly, the glass cool under her fingertips.

“It’s all quite…extravagant, but I guess that’s what I expected from Stark.” Daisy finally answered, and looked up from the glass, eyeing Natasha’s place behind the bar, “ _You_ seem to fit right in.”

Natasha’s laugh sounded as smooth as honey, and her unwavering gaze held Daisy captive, “I make myself whoever they want me to be,” she confessed, "Someone who listens, laughs at the right jokes…A pretty thing to have at their side.”

Daisy frowned, “That’s not true-”

“They like you,” Natasha continued firmly, still not breaking her gaze, “And you’re not pretending.”

“You think I’m not pretending? I’m terrified,” Daisy scoffed.

“Yeah but you’re you,” Natasha stressed, “They like that, _I_ like that.”

“And you’re not?” Daisy asked, curiously, “You’re not you?”

“I think with the right person I could figure it out,” Natasha responded cryptically. Daisy was momentarily lost for words and Natasha finally dropped her eyes.

“You not having that?” Natasha said, pointing to the Daisy’s untouched cocktail, “My bartending services don’t come free, you know.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, recovering herself and narrowing her eyes, “Oh yeah? What’s a girl gotta do to make up for it?”

“If she’s cute and she’s smart and she can knock Captain America on his ass, and she stands for what she believes in?” Natasha replied, catching Daisy’s wrist where it tapped against the glass, “Not a damn thing.”

Emboldened, Daisy leant over, leaning closer toward her. She didn’t miss the way Nat’s eyes flickered downward. Their fingers brushed and she saw Nat’s eyebrow raise, waiting with expectant eyes and held breath. A coy smile curved on Daisy’s lip as she reached forward and deftly plucked Natasha’s cocktail out of her hand.

“I think I like yours better,” she declared leaning back into her seat and Natasha watching her intently as she took a sip. She immediately cringed, her nose wrinkling at the unexpected burn. It was _strong._ It was Natasha’s turn to smile and laugh.

“Too strong?” Natasha inquired teasingly.

“Never,” Daisy shot back, but placed Nat’s drink back down onto the tabletop between them.

Natasha reached for something under the bar and leaned forward a little further, her face only inches away. She trailed a finger down Daisy’s arm before she pressed a small piece of paper into her hand. Daisy didn’t look to see what it was, watching as Natasha picked up her drink, “Never say never.”

Daisy watched after her as she sauntered away. She finally looked down to her lap, unfurling her hand to see a number – an obviously encrypted phone number.

“It’s nice,” someone commented, and Daisy startled, curling her hand around the paper to face the speaker. It was Steve Rogers, leaning casually at the bar, “You and Romanoff.”

“No, we’re not,” Daisy protested, “We’re not a thing-”

“It’s okay,” he placated, laughter in his voice, “Nobodies’ breaking any by laws. It’s just she’s not the most open person in the world, but with you she seemed very relaxed.”

He reached over the bar to get a bottle of beer for himself.

“She just likes to flirt,” Daisy denied, although the piece of paper felt rough, crumpled under her palm.

“This ain’t that,” he said, pointing to her fist where he must have seen Natasha place the paper.

“I’m leaving soon, anyway…” Daisy trailed off.

Steve shot her a sympathetic smile, “Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t, but it’s always worth a shot.”

“Maybe,” Daisy replied, sliding to her feet.

Steve nodded, and glanced around the room, “I think your friend needs a hand.”

She frowned, glancing over the room to find Hunter looking panicked as he tried to guide a very handsy veteran to the exit. Time to come to the rescue. Again.

*

The party wound down just after midnight, with Tony bluntly announcing that the ‘party was closed please find the nearest fire exit’. Clint had demanded they order Chinese take-out, and they were soon piled onto his centre couches. The food was delicious when it arrived and she happily took a backseat to watch Hunter, Maria, Tony and Rhodey play cards while she ate.

She was perched on the arm of the couch next to Natasha, legs propped up on the arm of Hunter’s seat. They hadn’t talked much since the bar moment, but Natasha had beckoned her over to the seat and the alcohol let a pleasant enough buzz that she took her up on the offer.

The conversation flowed easily through different topics, mainly focusing on banter about missions gone by and inflated egos.

“Strongest Avenger?” Tony scoffed as Rhodey proposed the question, “Obviously me.”

“I have the strength of a thousand armies,” Thor disagreed, shaking his head and lifting his hammer lazily.

“The Hulk, gotta be the Hulk,” Daisy interjected.

Banner shot her a shy smile; he was awkwardly perched next to a conked-out Cho. Tony met eyes with her and shifted forward in his seat. He pointed an accusing finger at her.

“You see I found something _very_ interesting the other day,” Tony disagreed, and reached into his pocket, “I was scanning a face recognition on you and lo and behold there was a match.”

He flicked a picture up on a hologram that appeared in the air between them and Daisy immediately buried her head in her hands from embarrassment. It was a picture obviously taken from a security camera, but horrifically high quality, of her dressed in a sexy iron man cosplay. It had been years and years ago, her hair long, cheeks rounder, and her eyes alight with naïve glow she missed now.

Natasha wolf whistled and smirked at the reddening of Daisy’s cheeks underneath her fingers and the twinge of pink to the tips of her ears. Hunter looked like he’d just been handed the mother of all blackmail material, which wasn’t too far off.

“Somebody is clearly a closet Iron Man fan,” Tony declared, leaning back in his seat triumphantly.

“See,” Daisy argued, raising her head, cheeks still flush but she levelled her gaze with Tony and regained her pride, “Am I an Iron Man fan? Or did I use your weakness for unassuming pretty fan girls to get close enough to your servers and upload a virus onto JARVIS?”

The room erupted into raucous laughter. Natasha gave her a high five, as did Maria who leant over Hunter to reach her.

Clint raised his bottle and proclaimed, “10 points to the girl!”

*

Soon the clock rolled around to 1am, the food abandoned on the table. Clint decided to challenge Thor on his claim that his hammer could only be lifted by the “worthy”. Daisy watched in amusement as first Clint, then Tony, then Tony _and_ Rhodey all tried to lift the hammer - to no success.

She remembered Coulson gushing over touching the hammer back in his glory days. Even Banner had no luck, and she internally cringed at his goofiness. Steve was the closest to moving it, the hammer squeaking along the glass. Thor looked concerned but Steve was never one to brag.

“Daisy?” Natasha suggested, nudging her side and gesturing to the hammer. Daisy hesitated. She was curious, as anyone would be, but she was also slightly worried about embarrassing herself in front of them.

“Yeah c’mon, Daisy,” Steve encouraged, “Can’t hurt to try.”

“Represent the ladies!” Maria cheered as Daisy slid to her feet.

She reckoned that none of the others had been successful so it wouldn’t hurt to try. No-one was being serious about it anyway – what would they even do if she could lift it? She had absolutely no intentions of ruling any distant realm.

“Let’s see what you got,” Clint grinned, from his position sprawled on the ground.

So, she approached the hammer, reaching out a hand and wrapping her fingers around the top of Mjolnir’s handle. As soon as her fingers made contact, she _felt_ it. Not just the rough grooves of the handle – worn and weathered with age. She felt it reverberating _through_ her.

It sang, like a tuning fork whacked on a table, a vibration so high, so delicate that it seemed almost ethereal. An expression of wonder passed across her face and she looked up, mouth agape. She caught eyes with Thor. His previous jolly expression dropped as concern flittered across his brow. She got the sense he could feel _this_ when he held it. The room was silent, none of the Avengers dared even breathe, waiting with eager anticipation - and some confusion.

She focused everything on that sound, that rich, soothing high tone that was still echoing around her body, rushing over her as if she had just plunged into the sea. It called to her and she closed her eyes, listening closer to that frequency. She could almost hear it with her ears, but what is hearing? If not just the perceiving of vibrations. It transcended the physics that she knew. The hammer reached out, testing her, almost as if _waiting._

It _jumped,_ and she caught it and suddenly it was inches off the ground. She held it in the palm of her hand, the weight not insignificant but not beyond her. She was no god, but she held it. She grasped it for a second, one euphoric second but then – _not yet_ it seemed to say. _You cannot bear it._ And the weight grew heavy – impossibly heavy and it slipped through her fingers.

It crashed onto the table, shattering the glass completely – remnants scattering across the room. The room was completely silent and when she opened her eyes everyone in the room looked equally as shocked as she felt. Daisy stood stock still surrounded by shimmering glass destruction.

“So…” Tony began, cutting into the silence, “Does that mean she gets to rule Asgard?”

Daisy shook her head vehemently, backing away from the hammer until her legs hit the couch behind. Natasha reached out a hand on her lower back to steady her before she tipped over.

Thor stared at her with intense scrutiny, cocking his head, before replying, “Mjolnir judged her highly,” he said carefully, “Truthfully I have not had an encounter such as this. Not many lifeforms can hear the call.”

“But she is worthy, right?” Hunter asked, eyebrows almost to his hairline.

“No,” Thor replied simply, but the deep furrow of his brow and contemplative expression betrayed his thoughts she potentially _could be._

As if one bombshell in an evening wasn’t enough, a grating high-pitched frequency pierced their ear drums. The group cringed and Daisy clutched at her ears – the sound reverberating painfully around her skull, amplified by her sensitivity to high frequency.

“Worthy…” a grating growl echoed from the shadows in the corner of the room. It slithered around Daisy’s lungs, sucked the air from them as she turned to face the darkness. Her heart began to pound. Thud. Thud. Thud.

“No, how could you be worthy? You’re all killers.”

Thud. It staggered into the light. A Frankenstein of broken parts - severed limbs of a damaged Iron Legion. Metallic scraping preceded each footstep. The rancid smell of gasoline lingered in the air. A menacing tilt to his head. Observing. _Studying._

“What the bloody hell is that!?” Hunter cried out, scrambling to his feet from the sofa.

Daisy raised her hands, apprehension making her palms clammy as she prepared to face the creature. Maria’s hand twitched, reaching for her concealed gun. 

“Stark,” Steve said, his voice edged with a warning.

“Jarvis…” Tony muttered, summoning his AI. He was met with silence.

She could feel the tension rolling of Tony, masking thinly veiled fear. She locked eyes with him. He was worried – they both knew why.

“I’m sorry I was asleep,” the…robot announced, an electronic gurgle in its synthetic throat, “Or, I was a dream...There was this terrible noise…I was tangled in…strings...”

He lurched forward. Dread unfurled in Daisy’s stomach. The hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

“Had to kill the other guy,” the robot stated matter of fact, but added with unexpected emotion, “He was a good guy.

“You killed someone?” Steve asked, incredulous.

Daisy knew this sinking feeling. The feeling of watching something you had set in motion unfurl. The point of no return in a temple with a sealing door. Frozen and unable to move.

“Wouldn’t have been my first call, but down in the real world we’re faced with ugly choices.”

“Who sent you?” Thor demanded.

“ 'I see a suit of armour around the world’,” it was Tony’s voice played through the unhinged mechanical jaw.

“Ultron,” Daisy breathed in terror, her fears confirmed. Natasha’s head immediately whipped around to face her, and Daisy felt the eyes of most of the room on the side of her face.

Ultron turned to her, cogs tilting as he studied her, blue lights seeming to pierce her soul, “In the flesh...or no, not yet. Not this…chrysalis…”

He glanced down, as if examining his body. He staggered around, unstable on his feet. 

His head snapped to Tony again, “But I’m ready, I’m on mission.”

“What mission?” Natasha demanded, falling into a fighting stance at Daisy’s side. Her fingers flexed, curling into fists. Daisy took a deep breath, her hands not quite steady. Anticipating.

“Peace in our time.”

And chaos erupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand everything goes to hell! This was equal parts fun and hard to write! What did you think?? 
> 
> (I always appreciate your comments even if I don't get around to replying xx)


	9. Attack of the Killer Bots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ultron makes his first attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to watch the Ultron Iron Legion attack scene on 0.25x speed many, many times to understand what on earth was actually going on. All bot numbers are accurate! Hope you enjoy it!

The glass exploded. An Iron Legion Bot propelled toward her. Inches before it made contact, she quaked. It shot backwards, colliding with Ultron. Next to her Steve kicked up the table, using it as a shield as a second bot crashed into him, sending him flying through the air.

She turned to Hunter, shoving him away, “Get Cover!”

The bot rounded back on them, they ducked, but she couldn’t quake in time and the hard metal slammed into her. It clipped her in the shoulder, sending her sprawling through the air. The ground came up fast and she barely managed to roll with her fall. Her momentum was stopped by a stack of chairs. She clutched at her side, winded from where she had collided with the unforgiving plastic.

Thor smashed his hammer into Bot 2 which crashed into the chairs next to her and skidded to a halt. Daisy snapped to attention, trying to make sense of the quickly escalating situation. There were 4 bots, five including Ultron. Three of them were attacking their strongest players. Bot 5 was headed straight for the sceptre.

She kicked off her heels and scrambled to her feet. She sped up into a run, sending a quick, hard pulse into the ground. The window frames rattled as she launched herself into the air, propelling her toward where Tony and Rhodey were making a grab for the sceptre. Heat blasted through the air next to her ear, as a fire blast missed her by an inch. She spun in mid-air, using a quake shield to block another blast from Ultron. It threw off her momentum and she thudded to the ground, just as Bot 5 blind-sided Tony and sent him sprawling into a bookcase.

Rhodey turned to fire on Ultron but was blasted backward, crashing through the glass and onto the walkway below. In the distance she could hear Maria yelling for him. She caught eyes with Tony, a defeated look in his eyes that spurred on her determination. They hadn’t lost yet.

Bot 5 grabbed the sceptre, but Daisy sent a quake blast, knocking it back and away from the sceptre. She ran for it, barely registering Tony’s panicked, “Daisy!” before another bot had grabbed her. Her stomach dropped as it gripped her in a steel vice, arms around her shoulders as they flew backward. It was headed straight for the window, where a 70-storey drop waited below. She reached out blindly, scrambling to feel the vibrations holding the bot together through the warm metal. She _pulled_ on the vibrations and an arm burst apart. It dropped her and she skidded onto the top of the bar directly below. Sparks flew from a blast above her head.

Hands grabbed her and yanked her over the bar. She landed heavily on-top of Natasha; face cushioned by her breasts. She quickly pressed herself up, hands either side of Natasha to save her from further crushing her. They stared at each other, breathing heavily. It was brief respite in a warzone. Another blast hit the bar, raining sparks upon them.

“He has the sceptre,” Daisy spluttered, recollecting herself and pushing herself up.

Natasha’s eyes were sincere as her hand caught Daisy by the chin, pulling her face back down so they made eye contact again.

“Never mind that. Protect Cho, I’ll cover you.”

Daisy nodded and launched to her feet, hopping over the bar as Natasha grabbed her hidden firearm and shot at Bot 4. Stark was wrestling with Bot 2, stabbing some kind of metal tool into its neck. Bot 1 stood over Cho; hand raised to deliver a deadly blow. Daisy leapt onto the Bot, grabbing onto the cool metal, and feeling the vibrations thrumming under her hard. It struggled, the metal head flailing backward and into Daisy’s nose. Pain shot through her nose, but she pulled harder and the entire floor shook beneath their feet as Bot 1 crumpled to the floor in pieces. Behind her Clint threw Steve his shield and he launched it at Bot 4, obliterating it.

The fighting stopped. Daisy wiped the blood streaming from her nose away as she glared daggers at Ultron, her head felt a little fuzzy and it wasn’t just lingering alcohol. Stark was crumpled onto the stairs, a metal body sprawled out behind him. Hunter had taken cover by the couch next to Maria and Clint was hidden under a table.

“That was dramatic,” Ultron crowed, “I’m sorry. I know you mean well. You just didn’t think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change.”

“How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to evolve? To become _more_ than human…” He turned to Daisy; a hand waved in her general direction. He tilted is head, examining the room, “They’re afraid of you.”

He swivelled away, and grabbed a broken Bot, “Look at these, these _puppets.”_

He crushed the head under a fist, “There’s only one path to peace. The Avengers’ extinction.”

Thor had evidently had enough of Ultron’s victory speech and threw his hammer, smashing it to pieces. 

*

The mood was sombre as they gathered in Tony’s lab, nursing new wounds and demanding answers. Daisy had immediately grabbed her laptop to survey Ultron’s damage, stemming the nosebleed with in one hand and ignoring the dull ache in her shoulder. There was already a large blossoming bruise visible above the dress’ neckline.

She hadn’t bothered to change, unlike Natasha who leant on the edge of her desk with her arms crossed.

“All our work is gone,” Banner lamented, gesturing to the destroyed lab.

“Ultron cleared out,” Daisy filled in, bitterness in her voice, “Used the internet as an escape hatch. He’s been in _everything._ ”

“Files, surveillance,” Natasha added, “He probably knows more about us than we know about each other.”

Which was terrible news for Daisy and the rest of SHIELD. Her firewalls couldn’t stand up to the entity she had helped create. He _was_ the internet. Daisy bit her lip, glanced to Natasha who was staring at her as if she could read her mind.

She let the Avenger’s argument wash over her. They discussed the possibility of Ultron’s destruction of the world. Nuclear codes. Ultron had even obliterated Jarvis. She didn’t know what to say. She had been with them for three days and she’d already helped build a death bot.

_Way to go, Daisy._

She bristled as Thor suddenly stalked forward and grabbed Stark by the throat. The room tensed, ready to spring to action. They had always seemed like such a unit, but evidently it didn’t take much to break them. Steve quickly diffused the situation, revealing yet more bad news. The sceptre was gone.

“I could have stopped it,” Daisy muttered, quiet enough that although Steve glanced in her direction, Natasha was the only one to respond. She shook her head.

“We were outnumbered,” Natasha reminded her quietly.

Across the room, Cho spoke up, drawing the everyone’s attention, “I don’t understand,” she said, examining the remnants of a bot, “You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?”

_What a good question._

Tony gestured toward Daisy, “ _We_ built this program.”

She felt the heavy weight of all eyes in the room swivelling towards her.

“Don’t put this on me,” Daisy snapped, “I was trying to prevent this. It was your idea to mess with alien tech we _barely_ understood, you brought me on board, and I did my best to fool proof it but guess what? We messed up, big time.”

He laughed. He actually _laughed._ Daisy glared at him. The rest of the room looked equally perturbed.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“I’m sorry. It is funny,” he said, between spluttered laughter, walking a few steps toward her, “It’s a hoot that the half-alien weapon of mass destruction over here _still_ doesn’t get why we need this. I’d have thought at least Thor ‘god of all alien realms’ would understand.”

“You don’t solve a problem by creating it!” Daisy retaliated, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

“You could have walked away but you didn’t,” he insisted, his eyes and voice conveying an almost scary amount of intensity, “You stayed and you coded that thing _with me_ because you _know_ we don’t stand a chance matching up to what’s out there. You can pretend to have the moral high ground all you want. It’s hilarious. We’re sitting ducks and you’re arguing over something I created to protect us.”

“Maybe this might not be the time to…” Banner interjected, and Tony rounded on him.

“Really? That’s it, you just roll over and show your belly every time somebody snarls.”

“Only when I’ve created a murder bot,” he pointed out.

“We didn’t. We weren’t even close,” he turned back to Daisy, demanding, “Were we close to an interface?”

“I don’t know,” she countered, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice, “We had the bare bones of a program. It could have been enough.”

“Well you certainly did something right,” Steve said, finally weighing in, “and you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD.”

Daisy caught eyes with Maria who swiftly looked away.

“Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole, saved New York? Remember that?” Tony argued, “A hostile alien army came charging out of space, we’re standing three feet below it…How are you guys planning on beating that? We’re the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day but, that up there, that’s the end game. How are you guys planning on beating that?”

“Together,” Steve answered resolutely. Daisy admired his unwavering faith. She could almost believe him.

“We’ll lose,” Tony countered, sounding just as certain.

“Then we’ll do that together to.”

Daisy felt like she had been caught in the middle of a historical event. The kind one wrote down in crumby history books. It didn’t feel good.

Tony seemed to finally relent, and Captain America resumed command, “Thor’s right Ultron’s calling us out. I’d like to find him before he’s ready for us. The world’s a big place. Let’s start making it smaller.”

“Already on it,” Daisy announced, “I’m running a key word scan, I’ll reach out to some contacts. He’s bound to turn up somewhere.”

“Good,” Steve said, levelling eyes with her, “We’re going to need you with us on this. And not just on back-end.”

She nodded, meeting his unwavering stare, “I know. I sent Hunter back to tell my team I’ll be delayed.”

“Good.”

*

A pleasant blanket of silence settled along the tower in the early hours of the morning. A time when all was calm and the soldiers asleep. Natasha silently skirted the shards of glass and mechanical remains scattered across the floor, hopping between the long shadows cast by the rising sun. The steaming mug of coffee warmed one hand pleasantly, contrasting the harsh bite of the icepack in her other.

She found Daisy exactly where she expected her to be. The beautiful sunrise bathing her face in a golden glow, her hunched figure silhouetted in front of the huge glass windows. Outside streaks of pink blessed the sky, un-noticed by the hacker absorbed by her computer screen. The light gave the illusion of deeper shadows under her eyes. At least she had showered and changed into warm clothes. 

“Morning sunshine,” Natasha greeted softly. Daisy startled, tearing her eyes away from the screen in alarm. She relaxed when she recognised the intruder, rubbing a hand her blearily over her eyes. Natasha was 100% confident Daisy hadn’t slept at all last night.

“Morning,” she grumbled in return.

Natasha shoved aside an empty box of cereal and a forgotten icepack, clearing space on the desk for her to perch on. She held out the coffee for Daisy.

“Liquid fuel,” she announced and held up the icepack.

“My shoulder’s fine,” Daisy retorted, but she took the mug of coffee gratefully. Natasha flickered her gaze to the purpling bruise she could see peeking out from the edge of her unzipped hoodie. She was favouring her left.

“Let me see,” Natasha said firmly, and Daisy didn’t protest when she gently peeled the hoodie away. It was quite impressive, blotches of black and purple blossoming across her entire right shoulder. She raised an eyebrow at Daisy and pressed the fresh icepack to the area. Daisy hissed and Natasha clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

“Keep that iced,” she ordered, fixing her hoodie so that it held the icepack in place. Daisy sipped her coffee and looked back at the laptop screen. Natasha could tell it was running various key word and facial recognition software.

Daisy was obviously working herself to the ground because she felt responsible, but she needed to look after herself. Natasha struggled with this herself, but it didn’t change the fact it was true.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Natasha advised.

“But it is my fault,” Daisy muttered.

“I beg to differ,” Natasha countered, “Steve and I re-watched the lab tapes, trying to get to grips on what Stark has made. We know you didn’t agree with him.”

“I should’ve told Steve earlier,” Daisy rebutted, “He might’ve kicked some sense into him.”

“You could have,” Natasha replied evenly, “But you didn’t. You had hopes that it could work. Tony’s not wrong, but he’s not right either. Did you help create Ultron? Yes. Was it a good idea? No, but it’s not on you.”

Daisy pursed her lips in a way that told Natasha she didn’t agree. Natasha added her to the long list of friends she had that took on all the blame, whether warranted or not. They should start a support group.

“What have you found?” she asked, nodding to the screen.

“Ultron’s been busy all night,” Daisy replied, “Robotic labs facilities in Russia, Jet Propulsion labs in Japan. He’s been all over. There’s been a few deaths.”

Natasha nodded, “You sent that over to Hill yet?”

Daisy nodded and checked her watch, “Last report I sent fifty minutes ago, but she stopped replying at about 3am I think, so that was…three hours ago.”

“Come on,” Natasha ordered, hopping off the desk. Daisy looked up, confused.

“To…where?”

“Breakfast.”

*

Natasha cooked up some healthy omelettes, shooing away Daisy’s offer to help and forcing her to sit at the breakfast bar. She could see Daisy fighting sleep, falling forward slightly and then jolting awake. None of the other Avengers had emerged from their sleeping quarters yet.

“You sure you don’t want to take a nap?” Natasha pried, flipping over an omelette in the pan. Daisy shook her head vehemently, blinking her eyes open.

“Nope, gotta figure out Ultron’s play before he makes a move on us,” she answered around a yawn.

“When he does, you’re going to need your energy,” Natasha reasoned, sliding the plate of omelettes and salad toward Daisy. Daisy jumped a little at the sound.

“Thank you this looks way better than cereal,” Daisy exclaimed, digging in quickly and chugging down the juice when Natasha sets it in front of her.

“Do you ever cook?” Natasha asked curiously, taking a seat next to her.

“Not voluntarily,” Daisy replied, “I did sometimes when I was a kid. Some foster parents wanted you to keep house. I was never particularly good at it, got yelled at a lot.”

Natasha hummed in response; she could relate to authority figures criticizing your every move. It always made her sad to find other people who could make any sort of comparison to her childhood. She had seen evidence in Daisy many times – taking the blame for things, flinching a little _too_ much. 

They finished up in comfortable silence, Daisy taking over the washing-up. Clint stumbled in and he took her aside for a word.

*

When Natasha left to talk to Clint, Daisy squirreled away to her apartment, grabbing the laptop as she went. JARVIS was gone, so there was really no reason not to contact her team. Ultron could out her any time anyway.

She sent an encrypted message to Coulson’s office. The reply was instantaneous, even though it was still 7am in the morning in both time zones. Relief flooded her as the dorky face of Coulson popped up on screen, flanked by a concerned May her arms crossed and stance ready.

“It’s good to see you,” Coulson greeted, his signature warm smile gracing his lips.

“You too,” Daisy breathed, running a nervous hand through her hair, “The crazy train over here has gotten just a little bit crazier.”

“So, we heard,” May chimed in, “Hunter filled us in. Word is you’ve been making murder bots.”

“Stark enlisted me,” Daisy confessed, “It’s complicated but the bottom line is I need to stay and fix this mess. Ultron might attack our servers so get Fitz to check our firewalls, try and keep him out. We’ve lost the sceptre; we have to get it back and stop the end of the world. Again.”

“You stay, help the Avengers,” Coulson ordered, “Mack can continue to work on the asset intake strategy and Fitz is still tweaking on the containment pods. Are they still in the dark on us?”

“Yes,” Daisy reassured him, “Only Natasha, Hill and Barton know.”

Coulson nodded, “Alright. Tell Maria Theta Protocol is a go for an emergency situation. She’ll know what I mean. We’ll be on hand if we’re needed, but I trust you’ve got a handle on it.”

“I will, and I do.”

His face softened as he said, “Stay safe, Daisy and stay in touch.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” May ordered.

Daisy knew it was their way of saying ‘I love you’ and it filled her heart with such a rush of affection that it overwhelmed her every time. She felt the emptiness when the line went blank and she was left alone in her cavernous Stark apartment.

*

Natasha joined her in the open plan office space, sitting side by side as they worked together to search and hack social media channels for news on the twins or ‘metal men’. Daisy didn’t realise the superspy was _this_ good at it. They talked easily about encryption and coding, Daisy provided news segments and Natasha translated words far more accurately than her rudimentary translation programme. It felt like her Rising Tide days, she had missed being able to workshop ideas. It cut down their searching time by half.

Every time she caught herself staring at Nat in a weary haze, unable to pull herself back to work, Natasha’s lip would quirk and she’d order her to keep the ice on her shoulder or remind her to drink water. Successfully startling Daisy back into the present as she was thinking of the cold compress on her tender skin rather than wondering whether Natasha’s lips were as soft as they looked.

*

Daisy fell asleep against Natasha’s shoulder, finally succumbing to the exhaustion Natasha had witnessed her stubbornly fight all morning. Her head was nestled in the crook of Natasha neck, a steady weight on her shoulder, hair brushing under her jaw and little breaths soothing over the skin of her neck. Natasha held herself rigid, making sure to be extra quiet and subtle with her moments to not jostle her awake.

She stole a few glances down at her, as she chased Ultron’s moves across the globe, Daisy’s face was as rested and peaceful as it looked years ago. It was adorable.

She glared at Thor as he stomped by. He immediately quieted his footsteps with an apologetic wave of his hand. A few Avengers flittered in and out, mainly Maria who spoke to her in hushed tones about their findings and took Daisy’s slumber in her stride. Afterall, Maria knew Daisy had been messaging her late into the night. Natasha did catch a little micro-expression of fondness from her.

Stark hadn’t appeared yet and she figured he was nursing his ego. Steve was waiting until they had something actionable, smiling softly – and obviously - at her and Daisy. She had the sneaking suspicion he had spoken to Daisy last night about them. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was a betting pool.

Natasha figured Daisy had managed to catch up on maybe an hour’s precious sleep, before all her efforts to keep her there were disrupted by the loud beeping of an alarm from Daisy’s laptop. Daisy woke with a sharp intake of breath, knocking slightly into Natasha’s jaw as she pulled herself to sit up straight.

She looked startled and reached for the laptop, despite looking as though keeping her eyes open was a monumental effort. She flicked open a tab. A camera feed of Baron von Strucker’s prison cell. In it was written one word.

‘Peace’ written in blood. A message from Ultron. It was spine-chilling but Natasha appreciated the irony.

*

Steve called them in to examine the findings, creating a party of people surrounding Daisy and Natasha on their laptops.

“What’s this?” Stark asked, finally joining the party.

“A message,” Steve informed him, shoving a tablet at him, “Ultron killed Strucker.”

“Oh, and he did a Banksy at the crime scene,” Tony quipped, “Just for us.”

Banner filed in, looking as though he’d just rolled out of bed. Daisy was so jealous, although her cheeks were still a little reddened from when she’d realised she’d been using Black Widow as a personal pillow. She had been asleep on her for a while, judging by the time…and Natasha had let her…

“This is a smokescreen,” Natasha pointed out, jerking Daisy back to the present, “Why send a message when you’ve just given a speech.”

“Strucker knew something. That Ultron wanted us to miss,” Steve reasoned.

“I bet he...” Daisy mused, typing in Strucker’ details, only to find them all gone, “Yep all the stuff we had on Strucker has been erased. I should have a backup on my hard drive but, yep, the metal bastards got that too.”

“Must’ve got that trait from you,” Tony jabbed.

“Well we all know where he got his arrogance,” Daisy shot back. Natasha smiled proudly.

“He hasn’t gotten everything on Strucker,” Steve cut in, steering them back to the matter at hand.

*

That was how they found themselves gutting the paperwork in the archives room. Daisy sighed, thumbing through various report files in a paper box labelled ‘Level 7’. She had stumbled across one or two reports from a mission mentioning May or Coulson. On one file she found a picture of May, obviously undercover as a cat lady in a baggy knitted kitten sweater and _bangs_. She elbowed Natasha in the side, showing her the photo and suppressing her giggles.

“Care to share with the class?” Stark remarked from across the table.

“Just a funny photo of someone I know,” Daisy explained, “When I was in SHIELD, they never willingly gave me access to anything above like Level 1.”

“Concentrate on Strucker,” Natasha chastened, but smiled at the photo and Daisy’s obvious glee. Daisy snapped a photo with her phone for the records. She’s definitely going through these boxes when has time to fully appreciate it.

“Here we go,” Banner exclaimed, propping open a box, “Known associates of Strucker.”

He passed out the papers, everyone reaching to grab a profile. It was, of course, Tony who knew any one of them – some arms dealer named Klaus. Thor pointed out that he had a strange brand on his neck. Daisy shrugged; she’d never seen the symbol before. Banner ran it through his anthropology database and got a match.

“It’s a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way,” Banner explained.

“What dialect?” Steve asked.

“Wakanada?” Banner said, fumbling over his words, “Wakanda?”

“Vibranium,” Daisy said, catching eyes with Tony, “Ultron will be after Vibranium. This guy must have it, and if you said he stole it…”

“Where is this guy now?” Steve turned to Tony.

*

Daisy slumped in a spinning chair, swinging back and forth every so often to keep herself awake as they discussed a plan of attack on Klaus. Looks like they were headed to a Salvage Yard off the African coast (the details were still a little vague). They had to get to him before he built himself an entire suit out of the strongest metal on earth.

She offered up some of her tactical experience where appropriate, and Nat and Steve gamely considered all her proposals. They were currently deciding which played most to their strengths, but she had zoned out without realising.

“Daisy,” Steve said, breaking through her stupor. His tone indicated he had been calling her name for a while.

“Mm?” she replied, looking up from the strategy to find all eyes looking expectantly at her.

“I said, are you happy to take point on Wanda?” he reiterated, “You’re best matched against her power, and you say you’ve been manipulated by her before.”

“She gave me some sort of vision, yeah,” Daisy supplied and nodded, “I’ve taken her on before. It makes sense. Use the heaviest hitters for Ultron, leave Wanda to me. What about speedy Gonzales, none of us can run all that fast?”

“I can shoot faster,” Clint piped up, “Bastard’s not getting away with it this time.”

Daisy admired his potentially misplaced confidence. Didn’t matter how good your aim was when the target ran fast than the arrow. She yawned, still feeling the groggy clutches of her nap.

“You should go sleep,” Natasha urged, “We’ll finish the plan. Your powers might be strong, but you’ll be useless if you’re dead on your feet.”

Daisy wanted to argue, but Steve sided with Natasha.

It was kind of funny actually, she realised as she stumbled into her apartment. She had been ordered to bed by Captain America like she was a child. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, although it wasn’t nearly as comforting as Natasha’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did we think?? Natasha is getting more protective and poor Daisy is working far too hard.


	10. Daisy Daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ultron fight part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a little canon divergence here. Ultron has made himself a body of normal metal with a teeny bit of vibranium alloy from Strucker's lab. When Stark goes down there he sees Strucker building robots, so let's assume that the rich nazi scientist has a small amount of Vibranium lying around - enough to coat the outside of a body but not enough for more than that. So it's not pure Vibranium by any means, but enough to react with Daisy's powers :)

The ship creaked, groaned, and clunked as Daisy followed Steve’s lead, raised gauntlets casting subtle blue light into the darkness of the shadowed corner. The drawling echo of Ultron carried up from the bridge below, accompanied by unfamiliar voices. Klaue and his henchmen, negotiating – violently it seemed. Thor’s unwieldy footsteps clunked along the grating and Clint hissed for him to shush. When Steve stopped at the head of the group to peer around the corner, Daisy could feel Natasha looming over her shoulder.

“I like your gauntlets,” Natasha whispered in her ear.

“Thanks,” Daisy whispered back into the darkness, turning around to face Natasha – their faces much closer than Daisy anticipated. Natasha’s eyes twinkled with amusement in the dim light, only a few inches away from her. Daisy dropped her eyes down Natasha’s suit – which was also lined with Stark’s subtle blue. “I like your suit,” she whispered in returned.

Two hands were suddenly on her hips, Daisy’s heart thundered in her chest – breath suddenly catching.

“Coast is clear,” Steve announced, but Daisy hardly heard him.

Natasha lip curled, and she opened her mouth to say something wicked, but Clint cut in, in a hushed whisper, “What’s the hold-up?”

Daisy felt Natasha’s hands simply spin her around to face Rogers, who was waiting impatiently in next corridor, and nudged her along a step. When they darted into the dim light, she saw him shake his head in disappointment but there was an amused, self-satisfied smile on his face. 

“Alright,” Steve ordered quietly, pointing to the balcony, “Barton, Romanoff, you take point up there. Johnson, Thor, with me. Wait on my signal to engage.”

Natasha nodded and slunk away with Clint. Daisy followed Steve down the narrow steps, the voices below getting louder as they approached. Ultron was negotiating a price for vibranium. She could sense the metal was different. The vibrations were muted, contained in certain areas. It was unusual.

Wanda and Pietro were there, just like they had expected. She flexed her fingers, feeling the vibrations through the gauntlets. They felt strong, focused. She was ready.

She flinched as she _heard_ the horrific squelch as Klaue’s arm was cut clean off. Klaue disappeared as Ultron flung him away, tumbling down the stairwell. Ultron was strong, and angry, and with full-blown sentience apparently.

“Don’t compare me with Stark! I’m better than that! Stark is – he’s a sickness!”

Steve held up his fingers. The signal. They stepped out of the shadows, flanking Iron Man as he descended from his recon above.

“Oh junior, you’re gonna break your old man’s heart,” Stark said, landing lightly on the bridge. Ultron did not look surprised – or concerned.

“If I have to,” he replied flippantly, as he turned to face them – towering above them all at a good eight feet tall.

Wanda titled her head, a question in her eyes as she sized up Daisy. Daisy rolled her shoulders, raising her hands in preparation, keeping eyes on Wanda’s movements. She might be powerful, but she was new, and Daisy could certainly beat her in hand-to-hand.

“Nobody has to break anything,” Thor interjected, attempting to keep the peace.

“Clearly you’ve never made an omelette,” Ultron quipped.

“He beat me by one second,” Stark pouted and Daisy shot him an unamused glare she usually reserved for Hunter.

“You said you were not an Avenger,” Wanda accused Daisy, taking a step forward toward her, “You lied.”

“I’m _not_ an Avenger,” Daisy protested, keeping her voice calm, ignoring Ultron’s distorted snort of disagreement, “I’m not here to fight. You can still walk away from this,” she glanced to Pietro, “Both of you.”

“Oh. We will,” Wanda answered confidently. Her eyes beginning to shine a bright red and fingers crackle with energy.

“I know you’re hurting,” Daisy continued, “Things are crazy, you want revenge but trust me, this is not what you want -”

“Urgh, spare me the righteous crap Agent Johnson,” Ultron interrupted, taking a mechanical step toward her. The weight of his metal body thunking along the bridge sent vibrations reverberating through to her teeth, “Or is it _Skye_?” he taunted, “So determined to save the world yet so well equipped to destroy it. Why fight to protect a world that thinks of you as a _monster_? You should join my side; we’d make a good team.”

“We both want peace,” Daisy reasoned, “But this is not the way to do it.”

“I think you’re confusing peace with quiet,” Ultron retaliated, “And what would you do with quiet? Where would your friends be? Your home? Peace is not an option for the perfect protégé of Coul-”

Daisy sent a powerful quake blast towards him. It hit him square in the chest and he staggered back a few steps. She tried to yank on his strings – to pull him apart like she had with the Iron Legion. Ultron began to laugh. Something was wrong. The vibrations seemed to be _absorbed_ by him. Suddenly a force was hurtling toward her and hit her square in the chest, launching her violently into the air. She could barely cushion herself as she collided into the wall behind, back bearing the blunt force as she fell forward to her knees.

Stark shot forward, blasting Ultron and tackling him as the stand-off exploded into violence. Steve and Thor were tackling _even more_ bloody robots. Wanda stood in the corner, manipulating energy between her hands. Daisy sprang to her feet, aiming a blast toward Wanda. Wanda blocked the blast with a shield of energy. Daisy’s ribs suddenly exploded with pain as a fist came out of nowhere and knocked her back to the ground. _Pietro._

Even through the chaos Daisy zeroed in on Wanda hastily retreating into the shadows.

“Oh no you don’t,” Daisy muttered, groaning in pain as she hauled herself to her feet and staggered after her. She easily knocked back a bot that blocked her path, splintering it into pieces against a cement wall.

Wanda was rushing towards where Clint and Natasha were stationed. Daisy could hear the faint grunts, groans and explosions in the distance as they fought off Klaue’s men. Daisy could see Wanda at the end of the long narrow corridor and sent out a blast. Wanda was lifted off her feet but caught herself and swung back on Daisy.

Daisy heard the groaning of straining metal before a heavy fire extinguisher was hurtling toward her. She blocked it with a blast, dropping it to the ground harmlessly, but she wasn’t ready for the rippling energy that gripped her body and sent her flying sideways through the window. Daisy felt the sharp glass scratch at her face as she crashed through, into the next section of the ship. She slowed her trajectory towards a metal boiler with her powers, ducked and rolled on landing, tucked up against the hulking boiler. She was getting _really_ tired of being thrown around.

Red energy lit up the air for a second and Daisy ducked, covering her eyes, before all the dim lights exploded into sparks and gave out. She peered into the pitch-black darkness, only able to hear her heavy breathing and Wanda’s retreating footsteps echo around her. Daisy hauled herself up to her knees, placing her hands down on the ship floor. Tremors juddered along the entirety of the ship, the floor shaking around them, and she heard Wanda stumble in her step. Daisy shot to her feet, stumbling blindly over the shattered glass to give chase.

“Daissyy,” Ultron’s voice sang, “Daisssy.”

It was feral, and mocking, hissing through the shadows. A trap. She jumped, heart in her throat as she whirled around. Electronic blue eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness beyond, one eye flickering as it tilted its head. Panic surged through her very bones, the hair on the back of neck standing on end.

“Give me your answer do…” another pair of gloating eyes in the darkness. To her left. He knew how to get under her skin. _How did he know that song?_ She tried to concentrate past the paralysing fear, locating the vibrations in the room. It was hard to distinguish the animated cogs from the lifeless ones. She was surrounded by metal.

“I’m half crazy…” to her right, another set of metallic clinking. Ultron was everywhere. In all of them. She tried to spin around toward the exit, but she couldn’t see two feet in front of her.

“All for the love of you.”

Silence.

“Boo!”

Behind her.

She ducked, just as a metallic fist sprang towards her face. She reacted on pure instinct, grappling with the one in front of her, twisting where the head would be as it crashed to the ground. Another jumped onto her back and she cried out, bucking wildly to dislodged it as another got her in the gut.

She reached inside herself, tuning to the hum of her own body – feeling the bouncing of the molecules as they buzzed tighter and tighter before – she sent a blast outward from her chest. Her entire body a conductor for the blast. The bots burst away from her, and she had the dull clang as metallic debris was blasted into the boilers in every direction.

She fell to her knees, trying to collect her energy. Her arms ached dully from the strain of using her powers. She took a few seconds, counted to ten to get her bearings and pushed off the ground to find the others. It was silent – eerily silent.

**

She found Natasha on the steps leading to the bridge, surrounded by unconscious men, but staring blankly in front of her. Her head twitched ever so slightly – the only indication she was awake.

“Nat,” she called out, but Natasha did not respond. Daisy knelt in front of her, reaching to cradle her face and check for any head injuries. She was breathing heavily, the signs of a panic attack that Daisy knew all too well.

“Nat,” she tried again softly, but she was catatonic. Her eyes unseeing. _Wanda._

“Okay, okay,” Daisy said soothingly, dropping a hand to Natasha’s hand to squeeze it tight, “You’re okay. You’re here, on a ship. We’re on a ship.” Nat’s eyes shifted to hers momentarily, still glazed over and unseeing, but she could swear they were lucid for a fleeting second. Daisy smiled at her encouragingly, “That’s it, deep breaths, the danger has passed-”

“What’s wrong?” Clint said immediately from behind her, “What happened?”

Daisy startled and moved out of the way as Clint immediately rushed over, checking Natasha’s pulse.

“It must have been Wanda,” Daisy said, running an anxious hand through her hair, “Her visions. Dreams, nightmares, whatever they are.”

“Hey team, I really need some back up here,” Tony said through comms. Daisy caught eyes with Clint, who was getting an arm around Natasha to pry her to her feet.

“I could go,” Daisy offered, coming to support Natasha’s other side, “Wanda didn’t touch me-”

“No,” Clint said firmly, “I’m gonna need you to help me get the rest of the team back to the quinjet. Unless you can fly all the way to the city, that’s your only ride. Stark will handle it.”

Daisy nodded, aching muscles and bruised bones not exactly waring to go for another beating. They managed to guide Natasha all the way back to the quinjet, Daisy a steady presence at her side as they walked in silence. Clint obviously thought Natasha needed time to process alone, and Daisy didn’t know her well enough to know otherwise. Whatever Natasha was seeing was clearly very traumatic and had shocked Nat to the core.

Daisy’s mind wandered back to her own vision from Wanda, one which was equal parts horrifying and equal parts confusing. Why would she be infatuated Ward? She would never hurt Mack. Wanda must take your deepest fear and show it to you. Stark had told her about his own – much the same thing.

Thor trudged into the quinjet as they got Natasha seated, walking as though he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. A subdued Rogers came to join a minute later – getting updates from Stark as his fight with the Hulk came to an end. Daisy took a seat beside Natasha, reaching for her hand and threading their fingers together – despite Natasha’s feeling limp and cold. Clint nodded to her in appreciation, before taking up the pilot’s seat.

Banner came back worse for wear and Stark just looked tired, pacing as they took off into the dark night. Daisy listened absently as Maria detailed the backlash from the Hulk’s rampage, advising for them to go hide somewhere. She left Natasha’s side for a second, murmuring to Clint that they could go to the Playground if they needed to and she would provide directions. Clint thanked her for the offer, but said he knew a better place. Daisy wasn’t going to argue that. Clint probably knew another one of Fury’s abundant secret bases, probably run by another lonely Koenig.

No-one was really in the mood for talking, so Daisy sat in the silence, mulling over the events of the day. Mission unsuccessful. Ultron had the vibranium and now they were in an even worse position than before, with one of their strongest fighters in the throes of a flashback. She sighed, thinking how much longer she’d be away from her family.

Daisy took up Natasha’s hand again, giving it another gentle squeeze. Natasha returned it – the pressure only a slight murmur against her palm, but it was something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Barton's house is next!! Who's ready for some soft Nat/Daisy?


	11. Not Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers arrive at Barton's farm

The grass was soft and dewy under Daisy’s boots as she and Clint guided Natasha down the gentle slope toward the safehouse. The group were silent, no doubt contemplating the battle and their own Wanda-inspired hellscapes. It was so quiet she could hear the birdsong echoing into the wind. There was nothing but peaceful fields of green stretching for miles around them. A crisp, early morning breeze filled her lungs and froze the tips of her fingers, despite the steadying grip she had on Natasha’s waist.

As they neared their destination Nat’s expression lightened and she began to lean less heavily against the two of them. Daisy reluctantly withdrew her hand, immediately missing the warmth of her body heat, trusting Clint to take the lead. Yet when she pulled back, she felt Nat’s cold fingers fumble to interlace with her own. She glanced up to Nat, her eyes were searching her, analysing, an anxious furrow of her brow that betrayed a vulnerability that Daisy had never expected to see. Daisy locked their fingers together firmly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and meeting her gaze with a small smile to say, ‘I’m here, if you need me’.

Nat gave her a small nod in return and turned her focus back to the house. She began to stand straighter, push her shoulders back, relax her furrowed brow. It was as if she were an actor readying herself for the opening night of a play. Daisy had seen it before, plenty of times in seasoned undercover agents like Bobbi, but never with this much-practised ease.

They trudged past a farmer’s jeep and a field that smelled like freshly cut grass, with an obviously home-crafted wooden fence. The house was pristine, illuminated by a serene golden glow as the sun battled through the mottled clouds. It was freshly painted, with green shutters framing white slats wrapped in a neat veranda.

It was the poster child for the All-American home, so Daisy reached for the gun at her hip with her spare hand.

“You don’t need that,” Clint warned, voice stern as he pushed on her hand, even as she clicked the safety off, “Put the gun away.”

“But if this is a SHIELD safehouse then Hydra could be-”

“It’s not a SHIELD safehouse,” Clint assured her, his voice leaving no room for argument, “Put it away, kid. Before someone gets hurt.”

Daisy wasn’t convinced but she didn’t want to start any arguments, so she reluctantly clicked the safety back on and slid the gun back into her holster. There weren’t a lot of safe, safehouses left, but at least they had enough firepower if things went south.

Thor and Tony voiced the same questions Daisy had been wondering, as they trudged up the steps to veranda, but Clint wasn’t concerned as he pushed through the front door. 

The door opened out to a…normal looking house. A wooden staircase in front of them disappeared to an upstairs as Clint veered right, passing a sleek wooden piano. 

“Honey? I’m home!” Clint called out. _A safeword?_ Daisy tread carefully on the wooden floorboards, the wood creaking gently as Clint led them through the French doors into a wide-open plan kitchen.

It could have been plucked straight out of _Good Housekeeping_ , with the way the warm light streamed through the windows and bathed the furniture in a picturesque haze. It was well-loved, the room full of kid photos, books, snug blankets, and stuffed animals. The orange couch actually looked comfortable and had the soft indents of time well spent.

Daisy felt her flight or fight response kick in as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet. The only house she’d been in that came close to this was the Brody’s. She was intruding by even breathing in the lingering aroma of freshly baked bread and roasted coffee beans.

She tensed as a woman poked her head around the corner. She appeared harmless enough, with her loose bohemian maternity shirt and a handful of kid’s paintings clutched in her hands. She didn’t appear like the type to be a secret agent. At least, she seemed startled by the company but gave Clint a warm smile that lit up her whole face.

Daisy felt Nat squeeze her hand once before unclasping their hands. _Was Nat smiling?_

“Company,” Clint told his…wife? As he embraced her and kissed her on the lips, “Sorry I didn’t call ahead.”

The woman glanced over Clint’s shoulder at the group. She looked almost nervous to be in the room with them. Daisy remembered with a strange sense of detachment that the Avengers were supposed to be celebrities and that she had once felt the same about it.

“This is an agent of some kind,” Tony said out loud, turning to Daisy, “ _Is_ this an agent?”

Daisy shrugged; just as lost as they were.

“This is Laura,” Clint introduced her, with a familiar arm around her shoulder hugging her closer, “My wife.”

“I know most of your names,” Laura said with a nervous laugh, the charming smile still on her face and questioning look in her eyes when they landed on Daisy.

Daisy shot her an awkward one-handed wave. Across the group, Tony did the same. They caught eyes and immediately dropped their hands, Stark clearing his throat.

She shifted awkwardly in the line-up of equally uncomfortable superheroes; beings of immense power stumped by the prospect of a happy family. Thor looked especially out of place with his royal regalia amongst Lego toy sets and stick-figures. Banner was hugging himself like a socially anxious child in an oversized sweater. It looked like Steve might try to break the silence, but the sounds of small feet pattered down the stairs and suddenly two children were in the room, clambering over Clint as he fussed over them.

“...These are smaller agents,” Tony muttered. Steve looked perplexed and Daisy was trying to figure out how Clint had time for babies during his time with SHIELD. Could Coulson have a hidden family like this, too?

“Did you bring auntie Nat?” the little girl in an adorable, mustered-yellow sweater piped up. _Auntie Nat?_

Nat uncrossed her arms, exhausted eyes lighting with a sense of glee as her face broke out into her first genuine smile since Ultron.

“Why don’t you hug her and find out?” Natasha teased, and Daisy watched stunned as she swooped the little girl into her arms. Daisy didn’t know whether she was speechless because, apparently, the Black Widow was an auntie or because the beaming smile that stretched across her whole face betrayed no hint of the catatonic state, she had just been in.

The girl settled easily on Nat’s hip, snuggling closer for a big hug with a grin on her face, before wiggling immediately out of her arms to cling to Natasha’s leg instead. Daisy felt a rush of warmth in her chest to see Nat so comfortable and easy with kids, glad too, that she seemed to have regular contact with something so…normal.

It was a crazy kind of juxtaposition – the Black Widow in her field suit, a gun still holstered to her thigh, with a tiny girl in pigtails tugging at her hand. Daisy felt like she’d barged in on a very personal part of her life and hugged an arm to her chest for comfort. At least everyone except Natasha and Clint felt just as out-of-place.

“Sorry for barging in on you,” Steve apologised, as stoic as ever, as he addressed Laura.

“Yeah, we would have called ahead but we were busy having no idea you existed,” Tony sniped, obviously deflecting from how uncomfortable he was. At least he had something to say, Daisy didn’t know how she could begin to explain who she was, how she knew Nat and how she ended up here. She didn’t even know if she knew Nat.

“Fury helped me set this up when I joined,” Clint explained, “Kept it off SHIELD’s files. I’d like to keep it that way.” He shot Daisy a pointed look and she nodded in return. Of course. It was very smart, considering no SHIELD file was safe anymore. 

“I figure it’s a good place to lay low,” Clint hinted, and Steve nodded his agreement, although the tension in his jaw betrayed that he was a least _a little_ upset at having Clint’s family sprung on them.

There was a grating crunch sound and Daisy startled, looking down to see Thor had stepped on a Lego house. Natasha and Clint were in a world of their own, Nat was fawning over Laura’s pregnancy bump and Clint was conversing in low tones with his son. Daisy was stuck observing with an Asgardian god who thought sweeping a destroyed Lego house under the armchair would hide it. Daisy shot him an amused eyebrow and Steve looked on disapprovingly. He caught her eye and scooted closer.

“Did you know about this?” he asked, quiet enough that the others wouldn’t hear, although they were engrossed in their own conversations. Daisy shook her head.

“I barely know them,” Daisy admitted.

The toast popped in the corner, drawing their attention away. Evidently, Laura had been making breakfast before they dropped in on them. Daisy was suddenly aware of how hungry she was and rolled her aching shoulder to ignore the exhaustion in her bones.

All of a sudden Thor whipped around with a swish of his red cape and was out of the door. Hastily leaving the house with a thud of his boots, Steve followed hot on his heels. Daisy stood in the corner alone, wringing her hands. God, she hated ‘family’ functions. In her experience, they were full of introductions to people she’d only meet once, and she had no idea how to act.

The little girl was suddenly in front of her, looking up at her with wide expectant eyes. The girl tugged at her yellow sleeves anxiously and Daisy crouched down to be on her level. She could handle a curious little kid – after all, she’d looked after younger ‘siblings’ all her life.

“Hi, my name is Daisy,” Daisy said warmly, “What’s yours?”

The girl toyed nervously with her fingers. Daisy caught Nat and Laura glancing over to her, mid-conversation about babies or something else mundane.

“Lila,” she finally said, voice with the shy cadence of a young child who wanted to say more but unsure if she should.

“Hi Lila,” Daisy responded easily, and held out a hand for Lila to shake, which was accepted timidly, “I like your sweater.”

“Are you a superhero like Auntie Nat?” she burst out, eyes taking in Daisy’s shining gauntlets with curiosity and awe. Daisy’s smile widened as she opened her mouth to reply, but a voice above their heads beat her to it.

“Yes, she is, Lila-bug,” Nat said, placing an affectionate hand on the back of Lila’s head as she came to join them.

“That’s why she’s dressed like you?” Lila queried, looking up to Nat like she was her idol. Probably was.

“Sure, kiddo,” Daisy said, shooting Nat a questioning eyebrow. Nat tilted her head in response, a warm smile still on her face. Daisy could see in her eyes she was bone-tired but holding it together for Lila.

“What are these?” Lila asked, pointing to her gauntlets.

“These are special gauntlets, they’re designed to protect me,” Daisy said, “So I can help people and not get hurt.” 

Tony scoffed from the corner, unable to resist chiming in, “They’re designed to do much more than that. Can I get any credit around here?”

Daisy rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose up to pull a funny face for Lila, “He’s just a grumpy grump.”

“I am not a grump-” Stark began to protest, but Daisy cut him off.

“Grumpy grump,” Daisy sing-songed, sticking her tongue out at him and succeeding in getting Lila to giggle. At least Stark seemed an iota more relaxed by the interaction and Laura rose a curious eyebrow as she took in the scene before her. Must not have been where she saw her day going.

Rogers shuffled back in with a shake of his head. Daisy straightened up, as the room turned their attention to him.

“Thor is gone,” he announced. The room seemed to share a collective buzz of concern. They couldn’t afford to be down a person in this fight, they were already on the losing side with a full team and they had no idea what Ultron’s play was. This was bad.

“Coffee, anyone?” Laura offered, breaking the tension, “You all look shattered.”

*

Laura left the Avengers to sip their coffee and munch on some toast awkwardly in the living room. Lila was sat on Natasha’s lap showing her some of her favourite drawings while the newest Avenger, Daisy, perched on the couch next to Nat like she was worried she’d be told off for ruining the couch if she got too comfortable. Most of them wore that look – Stark especially.

Daisy seemed like a lovely girl, confident and easy-going with Lila, but she was young, and despite that she had an air of solemnity about her that set-off Laura’s traumatised superhero radar. She would probably be able to tell Daisy was a fighter even without the tight-fitting superhero outfit. Or ‘tactical field suit’, as Natasha had insisted after a wine-and-dine night that ended in Laura asking all her burning questions about agent fashion choices.

Laura chuckled to herself – Clint, bless his heart, had a habit of bringing these types of friends home with him. Not that she had expected him to bring all the Avengers at once of course, but she could improvise.

“If they’re sleeping here, some of them are going to have to double up,” Laura pointed out to Clint as he freshened up in their bathroom.

He laughed good-naturedly as he gathered up a clean shirt.

“Yeah, that’s not going to sell.”

“I don’t think Nat and that new girl - Daisy, would mind,” Laura said coyly, placing Clint’s dirty laundry in the basket. She made a note to find some clothes for the others to get changed into.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Clint shrugged, “Stick the girls together.”

She sniggered, “You are _so_ cute.”

“What?” Clint asked, completely oblivious. She loved him, but those two were so obvious.

“I’ll explain to you when you’re older, _Hawkeye_.”

“Nat…and _Daisy_?” Clint exclaimed, frown deep on his face, “No but they’re just, I mean they’re just good friends, right?”

“Good old gal pals,” Laura replied sarcastically as she piled up some towels to distribute to her guests.

“Well, if you say so,” Clint relented, shrugging on a clean shirt.

*

Daisy gently touched the edges of the little childish drawings pinned up against the wall, various dates and names scribbled underneath. Her hair was still a little damp from the shower, but she was grateful to be clean from all the dirt from the rusty ship and changed out of the suit.

The blue plaid shirt Laura had kindly given her was a little big on her, just brushing the tops of her tights and covering her enough that she didn’t have to worry about squeezing into jeans yet. The shirt did make her feel far too much like Skye, lingering in a room that smelled like cinnamon, apples, and another child’s happy childhood. This was obviously a spare room, complete with a patchwork quilt, old books, old toys, and a random ironing board. She could almost imagine she was back with the Sutter’s – if the bed were an air mattress and the walls blue instead of green.

The bathroom door clicked open, proceeding the quiet hum of the bathroom fan. Daisy turned her attention away from the pinboard, leaning against the drawers as Natasha padded out of the bathroom. Humid steam billowed out behind her; she was still wrapped in a grey bathrobe, but her hair already elegantly styled. Daisy fingered her own damp hair a little self-consciously.

“Feel any better?” Daisy asked gently. 

“I think I used the last of the hot water,” Natasha answered, her voice surprisingly light, crossing closer to Daisy to fold her towel neatly over the old white radiator, “Someone’s going to be unlucky.”

Daisy scoffed lightly, “A cold shower would probably do Stark some good.”

“I don’t usually include Stark in my bedroom talk,” Natasha quipped, voice delightfully husky and a little quirk to her lips. The double entendre was not lost on Daisy. Certainly not when Nat ran her eyes unabashedly over Daisy’s legs and sauntered a few steps closer. Daisy’s breath seemed to catch in her throat and her heart skip a beat like her broken record. Natasha sure knew how to do that to a person.

“Is that what this is?” Daisy challenged, quirking a brow, and biting her lip in a way that usually got her what she wanted. She pushed away from the drawers behind her, bare feet sliding against the smooth floorboards as she met Natasha in the middle. There was barely a foot between them, one of them could easily close the gap, Daisy dared Nat to with her eyes.

“If you want me,” Natasha replied cryptically, eyes flitting over Daisy’s face, trying to read her.

“Should I not?” Daisy countered, tilting her head in question. Nat’s eyes flickered down to her lips, the adrenaline in Daisy’s veins surging at that _look_ in her eyes. She expected her to close the gap, but she took a step back instead, breaking the bubble they had shared. Daisy tempered down her disappointment.

“I had this dream,” Natasha confessed, hugging her arms close for comfort, her eyes still searching Daisy like she held the answer to the universe, “The kind that seems normal at the time, but when you wake…”

“A dream?” Daisy inquired when Natasha trailed off, “Did Wanda make you see-”

“That I was Avenger,” Nat responded, Daisy’s brow furrowed deep in confusion at this, but she continued, “That I was anything more than the assassin they made me. You’re playing with fire, _Ribka_.”

“That’s what makes it fun,” Daisy teased but sensed Nat was deadly serious and added, “You _are_ an Avenger. Of course you are.”

“You don’t understand,” Nat repeated, “I did some very _very_ bad things. Unforgivable things.” She broke eye contact, looking down at the floor between them as she struggled to withhold tears, “In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a saying. More of a mantra, really: ты сделан из мрамора. ‘You are made of marble’. You do not feel. It makes everything easier, even killing. I don’t know how to love, how can I?” Natasha’s voice cracked and Daisy just wanted to envelop her in her arms, “How can I be more than the monster they made me? I don’t deserve it.”

“You think I haven’t killed people?” Daisy argued, “We all have.”

“It’s not the same,” Natasha insisted.

“Yes, it is,” Daisy protested, taking a step forward, “You help people because you were meant to, you hear me? You do that with the Avengers. Wanda was just messing with our heads.”

Natasha said nothing but her eyes were searching Daisy’s so intently that Daisy had to force herself not to back down.

“You can’t be an Avenger unless you have something to avenge,” Daisy said quietly, “You can’t choose how you were raised, but you can choose what you do now.”

“Maybe,” Nat said, a sigh in her voice that told Daisy she didn’t agree. Her shoulders seemed to slump as she swallowed down some more tears.

“No,” Daisy disagreed, closing the gap between them, and reached out a hand to take a hold of her chin. It was a bold move, and her heart began to pound, but Nat didn’t pull away, “Not maybe.”

She flickered her eyes down to Nat’s lips, a second passed between them as she hesitated, torn between whether she should or shouldn’t. She could hear Nat’s breath, feel it blowing gently on her nose and feel the hardwood under toes. Her eyes shone green, still shimmering with tears that reflected the soft lamplight. It was the moment of awful apprehension before you pull a trigger, that rush of excitement as your muscles made the move before your brain could compute and she tilted her head, capturing Nat’s lips with her own.

They were soft, exactly like Daisy had imagined they would be. Gentle pressure against hers. Their noses bumped gently, awkwardly. It took her only a millisecond to realise that Natasha wasn’t immediately kissing her back and she pulled back, cringing as the sudden adrenaline rush was replaced by overwhelming embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she muttered, ducking her head, and turning away, “I’m sure you didn’t want that-”

She only managed a step before Nat’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back. A startled sound was ripped from the back of her throat as Natasha’s lips crashed onto hers.

Nat was kissing her _hard_ and it was nothing like Daisy’s tentative kiss _._ It was demanding, a great tsunami cresting over the shore, crashing over the both of them. Nat’s hand slid into the hair at the side of her head, tugging her closer. Her lips pressed Daisy’s apart, and Daisy hummed, hand cradling Nat’s face instinctively. She melted under her lips and hands. She tasted like raspberry jam, subtle and sweet. Nat’s other hand settled on her waist pressing closer if that were even possible. Daisy pulled back for air, lips tingling.

“A-are you sure?” Daisy asked tentatively, even as Nat pressed feverish kisses to her neck that made her shiver, “I just wanna make sure because-”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” Nat all but ordered. _Well then,_ Daisy thought. She brought both hands up to Nat’s face, meeting her with a forceful kiss of her own, thumbs brushing against Nat’s delicate cheekbones. It was exhilarating, freeing – to finally be able to give in to the demanding need under her skin. That little buzz that demanded she press closer. It wasn’t love, not yet, but her heart still soared as Nat’s hands tightened on her waist.

She pushed them backwards, smirk on her lips as Nat startled – the bed suddenly at the back of her knees. Nat surprised her by buckling backwards and Daisy didn’t realise Nat had tugged her into her lap, before she was already seated there, legs wrapped around her torso. Nat broke away and Daisy began to pepper light kisses on her jaw.

“That good enough for you?” Daisy teased in her ear. Nat hummed.

“Very nice,” she replied, and Daisy couldn’t help but capture her lips again – now that she could.


	12. *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mature content!! This chapter is rated M. This doesn't affect the plot at all, so if you want to skip you can!

** MATURE ** (Please don’t read unless you’re happy to read Mature content, this chapter doesn’t affect the plot!)

Nat’s hand gripped her bare thigh, as the kiss deepened, heat burning under Daisy’s skin as she realised she still wasn’t wearing pants. Her fingers explored her hips lightly, nudging under the shirt and causing goose flesh to break out across Daisy’s arms at the light sensations of her fingers ghosting over skin.

Daisy broke the kiss, breaths definitely getting shorter as Nat’s hands settled on the bare skin at her waist beneath her shirt. Not wanting to be one-upped, Daisy loosened the ties of Natasha’s robe at her waist. The sides fell apart to reveal Nat’s bra underneath – an elegant black number that was so Natasha. Lacy, but absolutely practical. Daisy realised she was staring, admiring really, the way it framed her breasts so well.

“You can touch,” Natasha said, voice teasing but Daisy was grateful for the consent anyway. She didn’t touch – not yet – but brought her mouth to just above the swell of her breast. Sucking a mark into the skin, where she knew it wouldn’t show. Natasha moaned a little and Daisy smiled, placing a kiss against the little mark there. Daisy moved back up to tease her neck with little kisses, the angle easier for Nat to reach for her own shirt.

Nat’s fingers deftly plucked apart each button until Daisy could feel the cool air against her chest. Nat frowned and Daisy pulled back, suddenly concerned, but Nat’s eyes were on her right shoulder – where the giant purple and green bruise was still covering her skin.

“I’m fine,” Daisy reassured, answering the question Natasha was bound to ask, “Really,” she added, at Nat’s raised eyebrow. She moved her hands to palm Nat’s breasts and distract her from further questions with a kiss, grinding her hips down slightly as she pressed closer, tongue exploring Nat’s mouth.

She succeeded, Nat’s hands were back on her skin, moving to her back before the pressure of her bra-strap was released. She pulled back from the kiss, shrugging off the garment and pressing closer, but this time Nat didn’t let her take over, instead pushing back, demanding more. Her fingers exploring every inch of Daisy’s chest, knowing exactly what pressure, where to touch, to make Daisy moan into the kiss.

Daisy’s heart thrummed in her chest, she was sure Nat could feel it, just as she could feel the pulse at her neck under her fingers. It was exhilarating and terrifying, Daisy was no stranger to intimacy but with the Black Widow it had a flare of danger to it that set her nerves on fire. Didn’t help that she was just so damn sexy.

Before Daisy could make another move, Nat flipped them over, just enough space on the bed for her to twist and trap Daisy beneath her. Daisy legs dangled off the edge of the bed as Nat began her own assault of her lips on her neck, leading a trail of hot open-mouth kisses before sucking lightly in the same space Daisy had made a mark on her. Daisy let herself melt into the feeling, allowing Nat to take the lead as she shucked off her robe.

Three marks later, Daisy was finally able to get Nat’s bra off, the buzzing need under her skin getting more urgent under her ministrations. Nat chuckled at her desperate kisses and thankfully knew _exactly_ what she needed. Daisy had never thought of herself as unskilled in this department, but oh boy did Nat know how to get her heart racing, how to get her toes to curl and fingers grip hard at the sheets. It was absolute bliss, Daisy cresting over a waterfall until she was swept over the edge, melting under Nat’s fingers, lips and tongue.

Daisy flipped them over, determined to find her way in the dance between them, giving and taking in equal measure. She could sense it, the vibrations in the room buzzing and dancing as they found a harmony together. Something exciting, dangerous and liberating existing between them as finally, _finally_ she could make good on the tension coiled tightly between them. This wasn’t the time, nor the place, but there was never going to be. One was an Avenger, the other an inhuman at the new SHIELD, but it still felt _right_ and that was all that mattered.


	13. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nat and Daisy have a needed conversation when they can keep their hands off each other!

Natasha awoke to a light tickling sensation on her neck, she was briefly startled, but a quick assessment of the situation had her relaxing back into the soft mattress underneath her. Daisy was simply curled up against her, soft hair tickling her neck as she buried her face into the crook of her neck. 

She looked serene, eyes closed and face without the worry lines of her waking life. Natasha tugged up the sheets around them, her bare arms bristling with goose flesh as the cold air hit. Daisy mumbled something, fingers twitching at where they rested near her heart, and Nat wrapped an arm around her waist, snuggling her closer.

She could hear the faint murmur of male voices outside and the dull thud of an axe chopping wood. Downstairs she could hear a quiet kid show on TV and the clattering sounds of Laura making lunch. The sunlight was streaming through the clouds in full blast, indicating it was by now well into mid-day, illuminating dust motes prettily as the twirled about in the air.

It was moments like this that Nat wished she could freeze time. As if there were no world-ending threats or traumatic pasts and a crumbling team of superheroes. When the world faded away and nothing mattered but holding a pretty girl in her arms. A snow globe in a warzone.

Daisy shifted and Nat drifted her attention back to her as she peeled her eyes open.

“Morning,” Nat whispered, taking delight in the way she could read every emotion that passed over Daisy’s face.

“Is it even morning?” Daisy grumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly, “When did we fall asleep?”

“I don’t know,” Natasha mused, “Sometime after you did that _very_ impressive trick with your powers, _Pchelka_ , and…”

And she said something highly inappropriate that made Daisy’s ears turn pink in the most adorable way. She indulged herself, pressing her lips gently to Daisy’s, who responded in kind. Tender, exploring, almost familiar by now.

Daisy broke away first, propping herself up on her elbow.

“Do you think the others are wondering where we are?” she asked, her finger idling tracing a scar on Natasha’s collarbone. Her body was covered in them, little cuts and scrapes on her fingers, a bullet scar on her shoulder, a serious bullet scar by her belly button that almost matched Daisy’s own two…

Part of Daisy wanted to ask about each of them, part of Daisy didn’t want to know at all.

“I don’t suppose they’ve even noticed,” Nat replied, “and I don’t know if _you’ve_ noticed, but the Avengers are pretty self-absorbed.”

Daisy hummed in reply, “Could never be me.”

Nat rolled her eyes, but a smile was still on her face, trying to bask in the little cocoon of white sheets they’d made. The world couldn’t exist if they didn’t let it.

“Urgh,” Daisy groaned, as if a thought had suddenly struck her and she burrowed her head into the pillow by Nat’s shoulder, “We’re gonna have to go out there and save the world from an evil robot.”

“Mm,” Natasha almost purred, propping herself up on her arms over Daisy’s sprawled form, tracing a finger lightly down her side, ghosting along the smooth skin of her hip, “There’s something else I have to do first.”

“What’s that?” Daisy asked, noise scrunching in confusion, even as Nat rolled on top of her with a wicked grin.

“You.”

*

“S’cold,” Daisy grumbled, burrowing closer into Nat’s chest as she adjusted the sheets over the top of them. 

“It’s really not that bad,” Natasha teased, but plucked her discarded robe and threw it on top of the sheets over Daisy’s form anyway.

“Not all of us were raised in freaking Russia,” Daisy protested, closing her eyes as she melted into the feeling of Nat’s hands running through her scalp. She was warmer now, and content, even if they both knew there were simply borrowing stolen time.

Natasha went silent for a bit before saying, “We should probably talk.”

Dread settled in Daisy’s stomach, but she peaked an eye open, reading Nat’s carefully blank expression, even as her fingers continued to run through her hair.

“About what?” Daisy deflected.

“Exactly,” Natasha pointed out, and her fingers did stop running through her hair - much to Daisy’s disappointment. Daisy sighed. She didn’t want to talk, but she supposed it was the adult thing to do.

“Okay let’s talk,” Daisy announced, propping her head upon her folded elbow, “That was very nice. I would like to do it again. With you.”

“Agreed,” Natasha said, and Daisy smiled.

“Perfect, that’s settled then,” Daisy announced, moving in to press a kiss on Natasha’s lips.

Natasha rolled her eyes and caught Daisy by the jaw before their lips met, stopping the potential distraction.

“This isn’t the right time to start a relationship, I think we both know that. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Natasha stated, stroking lightly over Daisy’s jaw, a gesture suggesting almost the exact opposite of her words.

Daisy raised an eyebrow.

“You’re a superhero, I’m a spy. We could die any minute. So, what the hell? You know.”

She shrugged. Nat couldn’t resist moving her thumb down to trace that quirk on her lips. She made it sound so simple.

Natasha let out a resigned sigh, moving her hands and turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

“I can’t tempt you to quit SHIELD?” Nat asked, “Join the Avengers full time?”

“My place is with my team,” Daisy replied, “I’ll only stay to fix the problem I helped create. I need to go back and help the new Inhumans. The ATCU are doing something bad with them, I just _know_ they are.”

“I don’t trust them either,” Natasha said.

“You could help, maybe?” Daisy offered, a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Maybe,” Natasha acknowledged and sought out Daisy’s hand to intertwine them. She brought their joined hands up to her lips, pressing a tender kiss to the back of Daisy’s hand. Daisy just stared at her, marvelling out how domestic it felt. How soft underneath Nat could be when she wasn’t worried about danger.

“ _Are_ you okay, really?” Daisy asked, seriously studying her face, “Because you looked really out if it back there.”

“I’m better,” Natasha confirmed vaguely.

Daisy opened her mouth to reply. A knock of the door startled them, Nat instinctively shot up, sheets falling from her chest as she reached for the knife she’d left on the nightstand. She held it out protectively, shielding Daisy with her body as she faced to the door. She made quite the striking image.

“Everything alright in there?” Laura’s soft voice called through the door, “I made lunch. Might want to come down and grab some before Steve eats it all.”

Natasha lowered the knife and slid out of the bed with panther-like grace, stretching out her back lithely as she did so.

“We’ll be right out,” she called, plucking her clothes off the pile of the floor. Daisy heard the retreat of Laura’s footsteps down the hall.

She caught the shirt Natasha flung in her direction, and left it in her lap, sitting back on her hands to watch Nat get dressed. She slid a knife into a hidden thigh holster, another tiny one around an ankle, garrot wire around another.

“You heard the woman,” Nat urged, “Get dressed, soldier.”

“Yes ma’am,” Daisy replied sarcastically, but slid to her feet anyway, greeting the cold air with regret. She didn’t miss the little dirty smirk that flittered across Nat’s face, before it morphed into a contemplative expression, brows furrowing in thought as she tugged on the spare jeans Laura had brought her.

“What did you see? In your vision?” Natasha asked, checking the knife was still in her boot before tugging them onto her feet.

“Nothing that made much sense,” Daisy confessed shrugging the shirt on, “My Hydra ex in a weird coat, he said something about us ‘sharing a connection’. I was hurting the people I love and there was this cross necklace, it felt important, but I don’t know why. The whole thing was more like some fucked up nightmare than a vision. Not memories either, just bits and pieces from my past that don’t add up.”

“Maybe your fears are more about what _could_ happen, rather than what has already,” Nat theorised. As Daisy shimmied into her jeans and found one sock.

“Yours was about the past?” Daisy asked, scrambling to find her missing sock.

“The Red Room,” Nat clarified, throwing the sock to Daisy, “The Maximoff kid dug up some painful things to be reminded of.”

Daisy paused, halfway through putting the sock on, “I’m sorry.”

“Shit happens,” Natasha declared, “Not your fault.”

Daisy nodded, pulling on the spare white sneakers Laura had found for her, as Nat rolled up the sleeves of her black cardigan. It was cute, paired with a purple shirt and dark blue jeans. Although, it made her look like anyone’s auntie, and not the deadly trained spy. Daisy preferred the tactical suit or the leather jacket…

Daisy finished tying her laces and clambered to her feet. After a quick survey of the room, checking for anything missing. She’d quite like to tuck a gun into her waistband, but she figured the feeling of safety wasn’t worth the risk around the children.

She was almost to the door when Nat placed a hand of her hip and spun her around. She kissed her one more time, soft and fervent, noses rubbing together tenderly. When she pulled away Daisy chased her with one more quick peck, the smile still on her face even as their lips met.

Going downstairs meant breaking their moment of rest. Natasha seemed to feel the same way and she rested her forehead gently against hers, but Laura was waiting, and they couldn’t ignore the future forever.

Nat pulled back, “Now go,” Nat ordered, slapping her butt hard enough to make her squeak and move toward the door.

*

Laura carefully manoeuvred the steaming pan of scrambled egg around Nat who was crouched in front of the freezer, rummaging through the drawers. Daisy watched the commotion, sat at the breakfast bar at Laura’s insistence. She swung her legs in her chair, unknowingly copying Lila who was doing the exact same next to her.

Lunch seemed to be a casual affair, Laura was setting up an impressive spread on the counter as the rest of the group filtered in and out. She had set Stark and Rogers to work on chopping wood for the coming winter, and they had apparently made it a silent competition.

Nat plonked a bag of frozen peas on the counter in front of Daisy, turning away to find a dish towel and wrap it up neatly. Daisy watched curiously, even as she grabbed Daisy’s knees to swivel her around on the chair to face her. Daisy had left the top few buttons of the shirt open, so Nat easily moved the shirt aside, exposing her bruised shoulder and carefully placing the make-shift icepack on the area.

“Keep it iced,” she ordered sternly, fixing Daisy’s shirt back over the bag. Daisy brought her hand up to it, the pressure a little uncomfortable on the bruise.

“I told you, it’s fine,” Daisy protested but kept the bag there when Natasha shot her a signature death glare.

Laura bit back a smile, setting a bowl of salad down next to the eggs.

“Thank you, this looks _amazing,_ ” Daisy thanked Laura, grinning as she grabbed a spoon to serve herself a bit of everything. Salad, some fancy couscous, eggs, sandwiches…the whole works.

“You’re most welcome,” Laura said graciously, sliding a simple pb+j on a pink plate in front of Lila.

Nat took a seat next to Daisy, digging into her own meal as she started a pleasant conversation with Laura and occasionally Lila who chimed in when she had something to say.

The normalcy of the moment struck her for the millionth time that day, sat at a breakfast bar with Nat, Barton’s wife and Nat’s niece having lunch. Laura’s presence was solid, she was very welcoming, and she had the kind of face you could trust. Someone who didn’t tense every time a sound appeared behind them like Nat and Daisy did when Clint strode in from outside.

Lila hopped off her chair, abandoning her crusts as she bounded up to her dad.

“Daddy!” Lila cried out excitedly, literally bouncing on her feet, “Can we show Auntie Nat the new bike I got for my birthday?”

Clint shared a questioning look with Nat, before Nat shot her a smile, “Sure kiddo.”

“Only when Auntie Nat is done with lunch,” Laura reprimanded Lila, but Nat raised a hand to deflect the comment.

“I can walk and eat,” she pointed out, grabbing her sandwich as she slid off the chair.

“Keep the ice on,” Nat reminded Daisy, _again._ If Lila were not present Daisy would have totally flipped her off. Nat simply ignored her glare, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before taking Lila’s outstretched hand.

Clint narrowed his eyes at Daisy, studying her before Lila grabbed his hand and forced him away.

“Do you still have your training wheels?” Nat asked Lila as they disappeared around the corner, and Daisy heard Lila’s indignant, “No! Don’t need them!”, as their footsteps receded. Daisy realised she was smiling as she turned back to the counter. They were a very sweet family.

The icepack slipped a little as she swivelled, and she adjusted it with a wince.

“That looks nasty,” Laura commented with a sympathetic grimace, “I have some bruise cream that might help. You wouldn’t believe the bruises Clint comes home with sometimes.”

“I’m okay,” Daisy replied, “Really. Just a surface bruise but thank you.”

Daisy pushed away the thought that she’d definitely had worse. Laura didn’t need to know that.

Laura raised an eyebrow, “It’s certainly made Nat go all mama-bear on you.”

Daisy blushed and picked at a piece of lettuce, “She’s just exaggerating.”

Laura snorted, “Oh honey, I’ve seen that woman fix a dislocated shoulder without a wince. She’s not the type to exaggerate,” she said, picking up Lila’s plate to put in the dishwasher, “How’d you get it, anyway?”

“Evil robot blindsided me,” Daisy said lightly, “Typical workday.”

“It would seem so with those guys,” Laura answered easily, taking it into her stride, “How did you end up fighting with the Avengers? You look pretty young to me.”

“I used to be an Agent of SHIELD,” Daisy answered, “Actually met Agent Barton once, on a mission.”

“Aha,” Laura exclaimed, as if finding a piece of a puzzle, “So that’s where you met Nat.”

The sparkle in her eyes told Daisy that there was no hiding the new relationship from her. She didn’t seem judgmental though.

“I guess it’s pretty new?” Laura inquired, “Your relationship?”

Daisy shrugged, a little helplessly, “I guess.”

“She’s a tough one,” Laura advised, setting down a plate to lean on the counter, “But I’m sure you know that. She likes to hold people at a distance, she refused to get to know me at first. She said it was to protect me, but when I was first pregnant with Cooper, she allowed herself to get close to me. She needs it. A friend. A family. A sense of normalcy in her life. She seems to like you.”

Daisy took a sip from her mug of coffee, “I’m glad she’s got this,” she said carefully, “You seem to have a good thing going here.”

Laura rubbed her baby belly absentmindedly, a content smile on her face, “It took a while to build, but we’re happy here.”

“How do you cope? With Clint being away all the time?” Daisy asked curiously.

“It’s tough without him sometimes, but I love him, and the Avengers need someone to reign them in. Saving the world is pretty important.”

Daisy couldn’t help but agree. She slid out of her seat, taking her plate over to the dishwasher and beginning to help Laura clean.

“You’re very good with Lila,” Laura pointed out, as she passed Daisy a dish to dry, “Did you have siblings growing up?”

Daisy tried not to grimace, but the expression slipped onto her face before she could wipe it away, “Not exactly,” she answered, “Foster siblings, mainly. I grew up mostly in an orphanage, though. So, there were always kids around. I never got adopted so…”

“That must have been tough, growing up,” Laura empathised, “Clint was the same.”

“He was?” Daisy exclaimed, legitimately shocked by the news.

“He was,” Laura affirmed, “Foster care. Dropped out of school to join the circus if you can believe it. I think it’s why he bonded so well with Natasha and refused to give up on her,” her face became fond, “He has a good heart.”

Daisy nodded in agreement, putting some cutlery away into a drawer. She turned around too quickly, bumping into Laura who dropped the glass she was holding. Daisy didn’t even think about it, just instinctively cushioned the glass as it fell with a small quake, suspending it in mid-air before catching it. She was vaguely surprised she hadn’t just shattered the glass.

She looked up, handing it back to Laura, cringing at her shocked expression, “Uh, yeah,” Daisy said eloquently, “I can do that.”

“I see why you’re on the team now,” Laura chuckled, already shirking off the moment and trying to put an anxious Daisy at ease, “I’m glad Clint has powerful people on his side.”

Daisy nodded, face serious, “If you ever need help with anything, you can ask,” Daisy offered, “It’s the least I can do after you let us into your home.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Laura shooed her, “Just look after yourself and keep them both safe for me, please?”

“I will,” Daisy promised, and she meant it.

They settled into a new silence, as they began to clear up, Stark wandered in to get some lemonade once, face sweaty from chopping wood. Daisy wondered if it would be quicker to just quake apart a log or whether that would go horribly wrong.

Probably best not to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos! Hope you enjoyed this little calm before the storm chapter!


	14. Wendy's and Vibrator Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An afternoon at the Bartons, with an ex-director of SHIELD, an inhuman and a russian assassin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took an unbelievably long time to write!! It was tricky to know what to write, especially since the film has a weird time jump between Fury appearing and Fury actually being useful lol.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Nat perched on the rickety wooden fence, deeply inhaling the country air as it refreshed her lungs. It was nice to be outside, after hours cooped up in a dirty city in a tower that barely touched the earth. She’d be here every day if she could. Here she could breathe deep, loosen her muscles, and relax a little.

She absently twisted daisies around in her hand, weaving them effortlessly into a complex patterned flower crown. It had started out as mindless task for her restless fingers, but the more daisies she added, the more elaborate it became. 

Lila squealed as she fearlessly zipped around the dirt road, flying over little stumps of grass and pebbles. Natasha smiled indulgently at her sweet little niece as she rode around on little pink bike and the little pink helmet Clint had insisted that she should wear.

“So,” Clint began, leaning on the fence next to her. Natasha could guess what this was about, Clint had been skirting around the topic for a while, “What’s all this about Daisy?”

“She’s cute,” Nat shrugged.

That’s all there really was to it, for now – all she could allow them to be. Daisy was cute and determined to fight for the greater good and would likely match her in combat within the next few years which was…kinda hot, actually. Not to mention the way she could make fitful butterflies’ flurry in her chest, which for Nat was about as unusual as carrot in a cornfield…Pretty damn unusual.

“Moving a bit fast don’t you think?” Clint asked, brow furrowed.

“Why?” Nat scoffed, playfully nudging his shoulder, “You gonna give me the talk about the birds and the bees?”

Clint rolled his eyes and knocked her shoulder back harder, almost dislodging her but that was hard to do when she had a superhuman sense of balance.

“Do you trust her?” he asked, his serious and concerned expression on as his frown deepened.

“She almost lifted Thor’s hammer,” Nat reminded him, twisting and weaving another flower into the set, “I don’t think you get much more trustworthy than that.”

“She has superpowers,” Clint protested, crossing his arms defensively, “That’s got to be classed as cheating.”

“You’re jealous,” Nat accused lightly, “I seem to recall you couldn’t move it an inch.”

“Yeah, I am jealous,” Clint admitted, unashamed, “ _I’d_ like to be able to bring down buildings with my bare hands too, but that’s beside the point. Just because the kid can lift a hammer, doesn’t make her the holy grail. Thor has flaws.”

“So do I,” Nat reminded him with a shrug. A bird chirped in a tree; Lila skidded on a patch of gravel. It was easy to ignore her tumultuous past and stay in the present when the future seemed worlds away.

Clint huffed.

“She did help make the death robot,” Clint pointed out, with a grumble, “That’s how we all ended up in this mess.”

“She didn’t mean to,” Nat defended, “She’s seems to feel plenty guilty to me.”

“She’s hiding something,” he accused.

Nat sighed, he wasn’t exactly wrong, but she could handle herself, _even if_ Daisy turned out to be untrustworthy or whatever else he was thinking.

“Your concern is sweet, Clint,” she said, “But I don’t need it.” Her face fell into a smirk, “Unless you have any tips on-”

“No. No,” Clint interrupted, putting his hands over his ears, “Do not need to know.”

Lila stumbled on the bike but righted herself before they needed to intervene. Nat finished the last daisy in the flower crown, twirling the little woven creation around in her hand. Silence settled between them as they watched Lila slowly begin to grow bored of the circles she was riding in.

“I _am_ happy for you,” Clint finally said, “This is a good thing.”

Nat smiled, grateful to have his approval and really, his concern made her feel warm inside. (Not that she would ever admit that to anyone, she was a Black Widow for god’s sake). It was nice to know he had her back, even in the most mundane situations. Not that Daisy was a normal girlfriend by any means…not that she was her girlfriend yet. They had a lot of discussions ahead of them, but still, she thought she’d quite like to make her a girlfriend. If it works out.

“Mm,” Natasha hummed in reply, “Once this blows over, we might have to double date.”

“If this ever blows over,” Clint muttered. Nat reached for his hand, squeezing it once in reassurance.

“It will.”

Lila finally grew bored and dumped the bike like it was yesterday’s trash, especially when she spotted the flower crown in Nat’s hands. She came running over, excitement wide on her face.

“A flower crown?” she gasped, “Can you teach me how to make one? Please!”

She looked to her dad who simply shrugged.

“Sure I can, bug,” Nat assuaged, planting the one she made on Lila’s head, smiling at the way Lila reached up to touch it with wonder.

**

Daisy had been sent out by Laura to provide the guys with refreshments. She found Rogers alone, diligently chopping wood – the stumps splitting apart like butter.

 _Woah,_ Daisy thought as she approached from the farmhouse, _definitely a superhuman._

Daisy set a tray of Laura’s homemade lemonade down on a nearby picnic table, drawing Steve’s attention to her. She hopped up onto the top of the bench next to the tray, legs resting on the seat as she watched him.

He wiped his brow, sweat from the sun soaking his skin and his tight shirt. Did he not own a shirt that fit him?

“Lemonade,” Daisy announced, gesturing the glass in her hands, “It’s fresh.”

“Thank you, Daisy,” he thanked her formally, setting aside the axe to join her at the table and practically inhaled an entire glass in one gulp.

She smiled around her cup, taking a more measured sip. Steve sighed in relief and put the empty cup down on the bench.

“More?” She offered, picking up the jug with a raised eyebrow.

“Please,” Steve said, with an enthusiastic nod, “It’s very good.”

Daisy obliged, pouring him out a second glass and handing it to him with a smile. She sipped hers slowly, the refreshing bittersweet taste pleasant against the warmth of the day. It had been ages since she’d been out in the countryside, not cooped up in an underground base with artificial oxygen and a dodgy aircon.

The vibrations here were much calmer, soothing even. There was none of the rumbling of engines and suffocating movement of people and _things._ It was just the natural hum of the trees, the earth, and the birds. Daisy wondered if this was how her power was supposed to be enjoyed.

“When you attacked me, in Sovokia,” Steve began and Daisy bit her lip in worry, turning her attention back to Steve from the grass, “Wanda gave you a vision, didn’t she?”

“She did,” Daisy confirmed, swirling the dregs of the lemonade to avoid making eye contact.

“I’m sorry,” Steve apologised, to Daisy’s surprise, “If I had known…”

“I quaked you into a wall,” Daisy said with a shrug, although she allowed herself a smug smile, “You responded in proportion.”

“Even so,” Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand, “It was brash of me.”

“Well, I appreciate the apology, Captain,” Daisy replied, throwing him a mock salute, “All is forgiven.”

He nodded. Daisy leant back on her hands, feeling the sun warm her face pleasantly as a cool breeze passed over them. She patted the space beside him, and Steve took up the offer, taking a seat next to her – albeit more stiffly.

The silence was comfortable, and she felt emboldened to ask, “Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?” he asked, turning to his body toward her with questioning eyes, but he didn’t have his usual tight jaw or furrowed brow.

“Being a civilian,” Daisy said, “Having the opportunity for a life like this, you know…white picket fence, a dog, a few kids.”

Steve considered the question seriously, and Daisy was about to apologise for overstepping when he spoke.

“Sometimes, yes,” Steve replied honestly, “I knew when I signed up for the war that my life would not be the same. I never imagined this, of course…but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I don’t think I can ever go back. As nice as this all is, there’s still a war to fight.”

Daisy hummed, understanding, “Why?” Steve asked, turning it around on her, “Do you?”

Daisy shrugged, “Not much to miss,” she said, and gestured to the house behind them, “Never had one of those.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t pry.

“Fresh air would be nice sometimes though,” Daisy continued, changing the topic from her less-than-ideal childhood, “Maybe I should take an extended vacation. Somewhere earthy.”

Even the rough feel of the worn picnic bench under the palms of her hands was a nice change. She felt like a teenager again, sat on a park bench on a sunny day with a friend and the strong desire to never break the spell that summer brought. Her childhood hadn’t been _all_ bad.

“They got you all cooped up at the ATCU?” Steve asked genuinely.

Daisy squinted at him, past the strong rays of the sun.

“Something like that.”

Steve nodded; a hand wiping sweat from the back of his neck and on his combat trousers.

“Got any idea what Ultron’s planning?” he asked.

“No,” Daisy responded, “He wants to end the Avengers and maybe the world, but that’s all I got. Can’t do much research without my laptop and Clint’s WiFi is dodgy as it is. Any activity from here might alert Ultron and that would endanger all of us.”

The fact that she didn’t have any leads was troubling. She hated sitting around and twiddling her thumbs – no matter how pleasant the day or the company.

Steve looked like he was about to reply when their attention was drawn by movement from the barn. Stark appeared, looking a little sheepish alongside Nicholas Fury – ex-director of SHIELD. His entire being still commanded respect as he strode up toward them, nodding his greeting to Steve.

Fury looked much the same as when she had last seen him, after they stormed Cybertek and he showed them the Playground. Same black hat and jarring civilian clothing. This time it was a grey shirt underneath his black coat.

“Did you know he was here?” Daisy asked, as Fury continued his approach.

Steve shook his head.

“No more than you,” Steve replied evenly, although he unfolded himself to stand.

Fury stopped a few feet away. She sat up straighter but refused to stand from her position lounged on the table

“Rogers.”

“Fury.”

Daisy picked at a chunk of wood on the rough bench awkwardly, trying her best to not betray her nerves.

Fury slid his gaze over to her, his expression not betraying a hint of surprise to see her sat so casually next to Captain America. Daisy figured either not much passed by him, or Coulson had tipped him off. It was likely both.

“Daisy Johnson,” Fury said, almost reverently, “The Risk. I’ve been keeping my eye on you.”

“Should’ve been watching your side projects,” Daisy replied easily, steel underlying her tone, “Then maybe we wouldn’t have an alien pandemic on our hands.”

A hint of a smile twitched at his lips.

“Walk with me,” he said, more of an order than a suggestion.

Daisy looked to Rogers, he indicated for her to go. They continued around the dirt path, the voice of Steve and Tony bickering (already) disappearing as they rounded the corner. Fury walked with his hands behind his back, emanating control but Daisy crossed her arms defensively, almost anticipating his interrogating.

They had never exactly had a conversation. Certainly not one-to-one. She knew Fury had been reluctant to allow her on Coulson’s team, and she had been around him during his brief stint at the Playground, but Skye had never been a person of interest to the man. Now that she had powers, it seemed that had changed, which was almost insulting. 

“I read your file,” Fury started, “Very impressive. Intelligence gathering, expert marksmanship, excellent hand-to-hand. Even Melinda May has given you the stamp of approval. Not to mention the ability to create a Force 9 earthquake with the flick of your wrist. If Rogers hadn’t beat me to it, I’d have recruited you to the Avengers in a heartbeat.”

“I’m not an Avenger,” Daisy argued, for the millionth time since falling out of the sky in Sokovia.

A knowing look crossed Fury’s face, “The Avengers Initiative was designed to bring together a group of extraordinary people. See if they could work together when SHIELD, and the world, needed them to fight the battles us ordinary folk never could.”

Daisy frowned, unsure where he was going with this.

Fury continued, “You seem to be doing a good job of fighting those battles already.”

“I stepped up because I had to _,_ ” Daisy shot back, “When your organisation fell to pieces and you left Coulson to pick them up.”

“He’s handling it,” Fury said confidently.

“Because he _has_ to,” Daisy argued, “And now we’re handling far more because you experimented with aliens that you shouldn’t have even _touched._ ”

“It saved your life, did it not?” Fury replied calmly.

“It wasn’t right.”

“Whether it was right or not is not the question,” Fury said, infuriatingly, “Decisions. Actions. Consequences. You decided to hack SHIELD, I decided to let Coulson recruit you. I decided to bring Coulson back with a miracle drug and he decided to give to you. It is my understanding that his decisions following the effects of the drug, and your actions, led to the discovery of your powers. Which, correct me if I’m wrong, have come in very handy.”

Daisy narrowed her eyes but didn’t know what to say.

“There are tides in the universe beyond all our control,” Fury stated, “You are as good example of that, as any.”

“So you’re just going to decide to give up?” Daisy accused, “Let what will happen, happen? Let SHIELD – _my_ team - deal with _your_ consequences whilst you sip margaritas on a beach?”

“If you’re trying to imply that I’ll happily let an 8-foot-tall robot terrorise the world, then no,” Fury said, “But SHIELD is Coulson’s now. I can only help from the side-lines.”

Daisy snorted, unconvinced, “So what? You bring Coulson back to life just to say, ‘good luck with Hydra even though they’re still out there and oh, by the way, you might go crazy because of the alien blood in your veins, but I’ll just go help the Avengers now and leave you on your own?’”

“I do have _some_ regrets, Agent Johnson,” he said, “but bringing back Coulson is not one of them.”

She kicked out a stone from the path, an accidental release of vibrations sending it soaring far further than intended. Fury watched it fly and let out an admiring whistle.

“I believe it is in all of our interests to work together now,” Fury continued, all but ignoring her outburst. He reached into a jacket of his long coat, pulling out a burner phone. She took it with questioning eyebrow, “Contact your team. Coulson will have my head if you don’t assure him that you’re okay. Best not to leave daddy waiting.”

Daisy scrunched up her face, “He’s – he’s not…”

Fury shot her a look, “I may not be in charge of a spy organisation anymore, but I can still read between the lines, Johnson.”

Daisy had been left speechless more times in her short conversation with Fury than in the year put together.

“Call him,” Fury reiterated, “I’ll go give Lauren my thanks for holing up you bunch of animals.”

He walked off without a backwards glance. Daisy waited a second, staring after him, before she pressed call on the only number on the phone.

**

Coulson was fine, a little worried about her run-ins with Ultron and Hulk’s attack on the city. He ordered her to keep his alive status a secret, not wanting it to distract the Avengers from their mission. Daisy disagreed but would follow the order anyway. He seemed to be implying that he would tell them eventually. Apparently, there was still this ‘Theta Protocol’ being prepped for a world-ending situation. The general agreement was that they were heading for a disaster requiring SHIELD intervention _unless_ the Avengers could figure out a way to intercept Ultron before he got access to anything big. Like nuclear codes.

Saving the world aside, Daisy missed them dearly. Perhaps that was a concerning fact, since she’d only been away for a few days, but it didn’t change the ache in her chest.

It was hard not to look as morose as she felt as she trudged back to the house, but one look at Natasha colouring with Lila with a _flower crown_ on her head, was enough to remind her that the Avengers weren’t all bad. Daisy had been trying to ignore the very real feeling gnawing at her that she’d be leaving something behind no matter which team she chose.

Nat beckoned her in with a beaming smile, and Daisy just wanted to kiss that cute little button nose and capture those soft lips again. Daisy walked over, Lila giggling at a joke Natasha made. Daisy raised an eyebrow at the elaborate daisy crown on Lila’s head, one evidently made by Natasha if the messy one still looped around Natasha’s hair was anything to go by.

“What’s all this?” Daisy accused, “You’ve been making flower crowns without me?”

Nat touched the messy crown on her head, as if forgetting it was even there. It was surprisingly endearing.

“Auntie Nat?” came a different voice from the door. Daisy whirled around, and Clint’s other child was standing in the doorway to the living area. It was the older boy, Cooper, who didn’t have quite the same unbridled enthusiasm as Lila, but he was still bouncing on his heels with excitement.

“I’ve been practicing my shooting,” he said, “Can you come see?”

Nat smiled indulgently. Daisy saw the pure love in her eyes and had no doubt Nat would murder for them. Although that wasn’t a good analogy, since Nat would murder for Stark if he pointed her in the right direction.

“You’re in high demand,” Daisy observed. Cooper looked down sheepishly, as if afraid to bother them and Nat slid up from her spot with elegant grace. Daisy tried her best to give him an encouraging smile.

“Of course, Coop,” Nat replied, reassuring him, “Go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Daisy watched as he scampered away. Nat slid a hand around her waist, and she jumped at the sudden contact, before relaxing into it. Nat nudged her forward into the little alcove by the door, likely as it was out of direct eyesight from Lila.

Nat extracted the messy flower crown from her hair, depositing it gently on Daisy’ head, “A daisy chain for Daisy,” Nat declared softly.

Daisy snickered and rolled her eyes, but left the crown there, “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Natasha quipped confidently, drawing Daisy in closer. Eyes searching hers for permission. Daisy nodded slightly, and Nat closed the gap between them.

Daisy hummed happily into the kiss, bringing her hand up to Nat’s neck, sliding underneath the short hair there. Nat snaked her other arm around her waist, tugging her in closer and anchoring her by the hips. Her thumbs gently massaging at her hips in time with the gentle caress of their lips. Nat pulled away first, pressing her forehead to Daisy’s.

“Wish we could go back to bed,” Nat murmured quietly. Daisy pressed another kiss to Nat’s lips in response, surprised when Nat deepened it and pulled her hips flush against her. Daisy tugged gently on Nat’s hair, rewarded with a gentle nip on her bottom lip.

Daisy pulled away to respond – and catch her breath - when a disgruntled noise from the front doorway drew their attention.

Stark stood in the doorway, a confused look contorting his face as he crossed his arms.

“Since when did Wendy’s hook up with Vibrator Girl?” he demanded, eyes questioning as he gestured to the pair, as if them not telling him about their sex lives was a great personal offence.

Nat shot Stark a cold glare as Daisy shuffled back a step. She moved her hand to Daisy’s lower back instead, disappointed that the shirt she borrowed from Clint was too large for her to slip a hand below the hem of the shirt.

“Get your own girlfriend, Stark,” Nat grumbled. Stark just shook his head and pushed past them into the kitchen with a mutter about inter-team relationships.

“Vibrator girl, huh?” Nat teased, drawing Daisy’s attention from Stark. Daisy whacked Nat’s shoulder lightly in retaliation, but Nat still had a mischievous glint in her eyes, “We’ll have to make that your call sign,” she suggested with a shrug.

“Over my dead body,” Daisy scoffed, pretending to cross her arms in annoyance with a highly offended look on her face.

“That can be arranged if you’d like,” Natasha quipped back, “Not sure it’ll go down too well with the old folks.”

“It’s _horrible_ ,” Daisy argued, even as she leant into Nat’s hand, “Like actually the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But…” Nat teased into the shell of Daisy’s ear, making her shiver, “Surprisingly accurate.”

“I heard that!” Stark called from the kitchen, smug tone in his voice.

“Shut up Stark!” Daisy yelled back.

“Whatever you say, _Hitachi!_ ” he hollered, voice far too loud. Daisy cringed immediately.

Nat’s eyes lit up in delight, “Now _that’s_ a good call sign.”

Daisy gasped in betrayal and poked her in the chest with an accusing finger, “I will murder you in your sleep.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Nat replied challengingly, moving her mouth down to Daisy’s neck to graze her lips lightly along the skin there.

“Mommy?” Came a curious voice of a little girl from the kitchen, “What’s a hitachi mean?”

Daisy couldn’t contain her embarrassment and she felt Nat’s barely restrained laughter tickling her neck. Laura, emerging from the adjoining living room, shot them a very disapproving look, that had Nat sobering up quickly. That expression definitely said, ‘you’ll pay for this’.

They slipped away as Laura fumbled through an explanation and Daisy was more than happy to follow Nat’s lead to the back of the barn, where there was an impressive archery range.

Daisy shouldn’t have been surprised that ‘practicing shooting’ meant archery. She had been imagining the kids with a gun, which had left a bad taste in her mouth, although she supposed Nat wouldn’t have allowed that any more than she would have.

Cooper was a pretty good shot, for being a little kid. Clint watched on from the side-lines with pride, giving him pointers every now and then.

“You ever shot an arrow?” Nat asked, handing a confused Daisy a heavy weighted bow. Daisy examined it in her hands, fingers trailing over the well-crafted but deadly bit of wood. It was more heavier than she had expected a bow to be.

“Archery was never on my SO’s curriculum,” Daisy replied honestly, “Can’t imagine it’s very practical. Less ammo. Less control. Harder to conceal.”

Nat snorted, “Don’t tell Barton that. Now come,” she guided Daisy to stand on the homemade standing-line.

She gently guided Daisy into the correct position, hands moving her arms upwards, rotating her hips into the best position. Daisy smiled, it felt like years ago when Nat had shown her how to fire a gun properly. Even if that had been a bit of a disaster.

“Don’t just fire at anything this time, rookie,” Nat smirked, clearly thinking of the same incident. She gently showed Daisy the correct way to pull back the string.

“You draw the string to your cheek. Breathe in, release on the exhale,” Nat explained.

Daisy nodded, drawing the string back. It was harder than she expected to pull it all the way back, the tension tight on the bow and pressure hard against her fingers. She angled the bow at the target, compensating for wind direction just like May had taught her – slightly up a bit, then to the further right than expected – wind’s coming from the right.

She could feel the vibrations running up the string as the tension grew, her finger twitched, before she released on an exhale.

The arrow struck the target in the centre ring – not a bullseye but pretty close to it.

Nat clapped her on the back.

“That’s my girl,” she praised, and handed her another arrow to notch, “Soon you’ll be better than Clint.”

Clint scoffed, “Dream on, kid.”

******

The sun was beginning to set by the time they could all gather together to discuss a plan. Rogers had been waiting for Thor to return, but it was highly unlikely, and time was ticking. Daisy and Banner had been trying to draw up some potential Ultron moves, but there were an endless number of possibilities. Daisy’s intel from Coulson (through Fitz) was that Ultron had been in their servers but hadn’t touched anything. He was after much bigger fish, like nuclear codes. At least on that front there was a success.

Laura had insisted they eat before discussing their action plans further, shooing them away from the table and removing their sheets of notes. Dinner had been a quiet but familiar affair. It reminded Daisy of the quiet banter the SHIELD team shared whenever they ate meals together. More often than not they ate alone due to conflicting schedules, but every now and then Coulson announced team bonding time.

It was the closest Daisy ever got to a family dinner – well, except the actual family dinner she had last year…She suddenly lost her appetite, putting down her fork with a sigh. Nat noticed – so did Rogers, shooting her a concerned frown. Daisy smiled; everything was _fine._

They’d cleared the table and broken into Clint’s alcohol cupboard by the time Fury called the meeting. Daisy sat on the table, legs on the chair next to Nat, as she sipped from a bottle of cider May had banned her from drinking due to E-numbers or something. Stark was playing darts against himself. Banner had retreated into the nearest dark corner.

 **“** Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time,” Fury surmised, “My _contacts,”_ he caught eyes with Daisy, the subtle nod of his head letting her know exactly who those contacts were, “all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing.”

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve asked.

 **“** He's easy to track, he's everywhere.” Fury answered with a shrug, “Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though.”

“He still going after launch codes?” Tony asked, picking up another dart from the board.

“Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway.”

“I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare,” Tony scoffed.

“And I hacked the CIA from a public library - drunk,” Daisy countered, taking a swig of cider.

“The NSA on a bender,” Tony retaliated.

“SHIELD on a laptop I won in a bet,” Daisy retorted.

“We get it,” Fury interrupted, “You’re both too much damn trouble, which is why your murder bot is giving me such a headache.” He put his hands on his hips, “As I was saying, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about the nuclear codes.”

“NEXUS?” Steve asked, scratching his head in confusion.

“It’s the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth,” Daisy explained, “Ultron would head there first.”

“So, what’d NEXUS say?” Barton asked.

“He’s fixated on the missiles,” Fury explained, “But the codes are constantly being changed.”

“By who?” Tony asked.

“Parties Unknown.”

“An ally?” Daisy asked, knowing it can’t have been SHIELD, “It could be someone I know. Rising Tide, maybe?”

“I doubt it,” Fury said, “Your cyberpunks don’t have access to that kind of information, no matter how good you think you are. The motive isn’t there either. It’s gotta be someone governmental. I'd pay folding money to know who it is.”

“I might need to visit Oslo, find our ‘unknown’.” Stark suggested.

Nat sighed, holding her head in her hands. “Well, this is good times, boss,” she spoke up for the first time, “but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that. That’s not a plan, that’s a lucky coincidence.”

“I do have a plan,” Fury defended, “I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else.”

Daisy scoffed, barely restraining herself from muttering something under her breath. Nat knocked her shin lightly.

“Here we all are,” Fury continued, “back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”

That wasn’t quite true though, was it? Daisy knew Coulson’s reasoning not to reveal SHIELD, but it stung to hear their very capable team be reduced to ‘nothing’. She barely contained the scowl.

“Steve doesn't like that kind of talk.” Nat teased Steve.

“You know what, Romanoff?”

Nat shot him a mischievous smile. Daisy rolled her eyes, hiding her little spike of jealousy at the little smile Rogers sent her back. She’d have thought they were couple if she didn’t know better, it was what all the tabloids theorised at least.

“So, what does he want?” Fury asked, redirecting the conversation.

“To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies,” Rogers offered.

“Robot bodies,” Daisy cut in, “Don’t think that counts as bodies.”

“No, he wants person bodies,” Stark argued, “The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.”

“Almost like he _is_ a human,” Daisy added, “He has some weird resentments.”

“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed,” Nat gibed, but there was no real malice in her voice. She knew Daisy felt guilty enough about it.

“They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve,” Banner said, “He kept saying that, especially to Daisy. Ultron's going to evolve.”

“Yes, but evolve how?” Daisy countered, “He can’t be an inhuman. Or even human. It’s not possible unless-”

Banner was staring at Lila’s drawing of a butterfly, ashen faced.

“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?” Banner asked, face struck with the realisation.

**

“I’ll take Natasha, Clint and Daisy,” Rogers announced as he swung his shield up onto his back. 

“But I could help with NEXUS.” Daisy protested, even as she slid on her new gauntlets, flexing her fingers to feel the familiar thrum in her forearms, “Find our inside guy.”

“We’ll need your firepower if things go south,” Rogers disagreed, “Stark can handle NEXUS.”

Stark raised a self-satisfied eyebrow at Daisy but nodded seriously, “I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

 **“** If Ultron is really building a body...” Steve muttered.

“He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us,” Stark continued, “An android designed by a robot.”

“He’s made himself out of vibranium too,” Daisy added, worrying her bottom lip, “My powers aren’t so good against that.”

“You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me,” Steve sighed.

“Trust me, there’s weirder,” Daisy blurted out, and immediately regretted it when Steve narrowed his eyes and titled his head in suspicion.

“I'll drop Banner off at the tower,” Fury cut in, and Daisy wondered if he’d planned that, “Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?

“She's all yours _, apparently_ ,” Tony allowed, “What are you gonna do?”

“I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope.” Fury said, twinkle in his eye, he winked at Daisy. She nodded. Coulson had indeed promised something dramatic if it came to it, those two were definitely cut from the same cloth.

Tony frowned, “You two in cahoots too?”

Daisy didn’t reply, she didn’t need to, as a little hand tugged at her sleeve. She looked down to find Lila, dressed in her pyjamas and evidently ready for bed.

“Are you leaving?” Lila asked, pouting.

“I’m sorry kiddo,” Daisy said, kneeling down to give her a hug, “I loved your drawings. Thank you for letting us stay.”

“You gonna come back?” Lila asked, “Bring Auntie Nat?”

“Maybe,” Daisy answered, non-committedly. Behind her the others had already trudged off back up the hill towards the Quinjet.

Laura placed a hand on Lila’s shoulder, “Alright, time for bed,” Laura urged, nudging Lila back up the staircase. Daisy stood up, watching the kid disappear.

Laura pulled her into a hug, Daisy let herself be enveloped in the suspiciously motherly embrace. She allowed herself to close her eyes, relax into the warm arms. Laura rubbed a gently hand against her back before pulling away and holding her at arm’s length.

“Look after them,” Laura said.

“I will,” Daisy promised.

Laura dropped her arms and turned to embrace her husband in goodbye. Nat met her eyes with a knowing smile, “Time to go.”

She followed Nat out the door. It was dark out, the wind blowing gently, so gently it was almost tranquil. The air smelt like woodsmoke and the birds were eerily quiet, only the gentle sound of rustling trees.

She caught Nat’s sad smile in the faint warm light cast from the farmhouse, the light fading away into the distance. It felt like leaving a life behind, a piece of the small sanctuary they had made, before they were thrown back into the mission. For a second she worried that their new, gentle…whatever it was they had…had just been reserved for that house. She worried that maybe Natasha had only been with her to get the vision out of her mind, or maybe it was only a soft side of her brought out by Barton’s family.

She was the one to reach out for Nat’s hand this time, her fears calmed when Nat threaded their fingers together and squeezed once in reassurance.

Tomorrow was unpredictable, but she could savour today.


	15. Give 'em Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers try to prevent Ultron from building himself a new body...how will it turn out with Quake in play?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I did not intend to take 2 months writing this. I've been writing it on and off, and I'm so glad I finally finished this chapter! Although I'm really glad E8 of Wandavision came out before finishing this so I had a better idea of Wanda's story for her scene!

The flight to South Korea to intercept Dr Cho was a long one, despite the Quinjet’s superior flight speed, they’d be flying all night and would arrive sometime in the morning. Or rather, South Korea’s morning, which was a whole day after they left Clint’s house.

Nat let her rest her head on her shoulder, like she had on accident in the tower – an incident was only a few days ago but felt like a lifetime. She hadn’t let go of their entangled fingers either, simply pulling their joint hands into her lap.

The Quinjet was on autopilot. Steve was lying asleep across a row of folded chairs, taking what Clint affectionately called a ‘cap-nap’. His back was ramrod straight as though he was ready for action even in his sleep.

The steady hum of the engine was soothing. Nat was idly drawing patterns into the back of Daisy’s hand, sending occasional shivers down her spine as her fingertips ghosted over her skin. The shoulder muscles under Daisy’s cheek felt surprisingly relaxed and Nat’s body language was open, inviting. Daisy wasn’t sure what this meant, but it felt like more than friends with benefits. She hadn’t had much luck with relationships, so she tried not to think too much into it. Clint watched them from his position in an opposite seat – arms crossed, stance wide and eyes slightly narrowed as he observed them.

“So, Daisy,” Clint started, and Daisy got the uncanny feeling of being interrogated on her relationship by a protective older brother. _Nat’s_ protective older brother.

“Don’t start,” Nat grumbled close to Daisy’s ear and interrupting him before he could finish his sentence. Clint chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright,” he assuaged, “I just wanted to get to know the newest member of our team.”

Daisy lifted her head from Nat’s shoulder, clearing her throat, “What do you want to know?”

He leant forward, hands steepled in front of him like he was about to read her tarot cards and tell her about her future, “What are your thoughts on Budapest?”

Daisy scrunched her face up at the odd question, “Pretty city. Never been there.”

“Good,” Clint nodded, leaning back, and rummaging through the open popcorn packet at his side, “She didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Dread settled in Daisy’s stomach. Was this some horrible secret she should know…? Was this Nat’s Bahrain?

“Clint is worried I told you about our mission in Budapest,” Nat filled in, smile in her voice, “See, he got stuck with his pants down when the chickens-”

“That is highly classified information,” Clint scolded loudly over Nat’s talking, and threw a piece of popcorn at her, being the secret agent she was, she caught it in her mouth. Nat let out a small chuckle.

“But Daisy’s an ex-SHIELD agent,” Nat pointed out with a pout, “She has clearance for certain important team-bonding information.”

“Clearance my ass,” Clint scoffed, “Kid was barely Level 1 when she was in SHIELD.” His voice took on a high girlish tone as he mocked her, “ _‘Oh no I’m being chased by a bear, oh save me Natasha save me!’”_

Daisy reached out and quaked the packet of popcorn. It spilled out all over the floor – some pieces finding their way through the cracks in the grate. He flipped her the bird, grumbling as he tried to salvage as many less-tarnished pieces as he could. Daisy relaxed some of the tension in her shoulders, realising that Clint wasn’t averse to her presence or about to interrogate her on SHIELD or the ATCU lie or the multitude of uncomfortable topics he could have chosen.

Cap stirred in his sleep – lifting his head a few inches to survey the commotion, before dropping right back into slumber.

“We should get some sleep,” Nat announced, “Long day ahead. We’ll need to be sharp.”

Daisy nodded, a yawn already on her lips.

“This isn’t over,” Clint warned teasingly with a raised finger, and a grumpy crunch of a rescued piece of popcorn. However, he twisted in his seat, pulling his detachable hood down to cover his eyes as he followed Nat’s silent order.

Daisy settled back on Nat’s shoulder, momentarily startled by the soft press of lips against her temple. She sighed, wiggling to get more comfortable at the awkward angle and gave their conjoined hands a squeeze.

Nat leant back against the wall and Daisy felt her breathing even out as she performed some superspy technique and dropped into sleep. It was more similar to May’s light sleeping meditation than Daisy’s ‘I’m dead to the world’ slumber.

It took Daisy much longer, but the soothing vibrations of the engine and the steady breaths from Nat soon allowed her mind to drift away.

*******

**“** _He’s uploading himself into the body,”_ Steve’s voice filtered through the Quinjet speakers.

Daisy glanced up from her tablet, sharing as grim look with Nat. Clint cursed from the pilot seat. They were hovering above a city in South Korea. Daisy should be excited, she’d never been to South Korea before. Instead, all she felt was dread.

“ _Where?”_

Daisy glanced down to her tablet, trying to track possible movement from Ultron, but the cities’ travel data was immense.

 _“The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark,”_ Dr Cho informed Steve, sounding in pain.

_“First I have to find it.”_

Daisy got a hit. There was strange data activity from the airport. She sent it to the Nat, catching her eyes from across the table. Nat’s mouth pressed in a tight line as she nodded.

 _“Go,”_ Dr Cho urged.

 _“Did you guys copy that?”_ Steve asked over comms.

“We did,” Clint affirmed.

“We got a private jet taking off across town,” Daisy announced.

“No manifest, it could be him,” Nat agreed.

“I see him,” Clint said, “Truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver.”

_“_ _Negative! If that truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron.”_

“I can do that,” Daisy said, abandoning the tablet to tighten her gauntlets. Nat’s eyes twinkled as she glanced over her, searching for something, Daisy wasn’t sure what, but it felt a lot like sizing her up.

Nat nodded.

“We’ll take the bike,” Nat affirmed, stalking over to the impressive motorbike in the hanger. Daisy couldn’t help but get distracted momentarily by the sway of Nat’s hips as she sauntered. She swung her legs over, tossing back her hair as she tightened her grip on the handlebars. She cocked an eyebrow at Daisy, obviously catching on to the staring judging by the small, amused smile on her perfectly kissable lips, and jerked her head to the space behind her, “Hop on.”

Daisy scrambled to follow, swinging up behind Nat. It felt as natural as breathing to loop her arms around Nat’s waist. Nat cradled her where her hands were locked together almost tenderly, before gripping the handles again.

“Got a window in 3!” Clint yelled.

“Hold tight, baby,” Nat purred, turning around to plant a quick kiss to Daisy’s cheek.

Daisy squeezed her hands tighter around Nat’s waist feeling her muscles tensing underneath her hand. She rested her chin on Nat’s shoulder as she braced herself for the stomach-churning drop and significant risk to their lives. Just another day in the office.

“Give ‘em hell,” Clint yelled, as the ground opened up.

Daisy struggled to hold in her yelp as the hangar door opened and they dropped to the ground below. The impact was jarring but she held fast as Nat fearlessly zipped through traffic. She kept her balance, the wind whipping so fast into her eyes it was hard to see. A car swerved closer and Daisy tensed for impact, but Nat dodged easily, her vibrations as steady as ever.

“Always picking up after those boys,” Nat muttered, leaning down to scoop Cap’s shield off the road. Daisy barely noticed the small shield and her adrenaline spiked as the bike careened to the side. Her short stint on a moped in San Juan was not good preparation for this, but at least she had superpowers. All Nat had was nerves of steel.

 _“They’re heading over the overpass, I’ve got no shot,”_ Clint filtered through comms.

“Which way?” Nat yelled over the wind.

_“Hard right…now!”_

Nat suddenly turned down them right down an alleyway. A pedestrian leapt out of the way, Daisy pushed out a vibrational field around them – shoving a few more pedestrians aside. It wasn’t subtle, but it certainly beat running them over.

They skidded, down another tight alleyway, which was thankfully empty. The truck came up in front of them, Nat sped up to drive alongside it. Cap was on top, in a chokehold by Ultron.

“I’m gonna jump!” Daisy decided, even as fear shot through her at the very thought of leaping from the speeding motorbike, “Hold steady!”

Daisy used Nat’s shoulders to steady herself, the leather soft underneath her fingers as she climbed to her feet on the seat. She was loathe to let go of the support, but steeled herself and thrust her hands down under her to build up some vibrations against the fast-speeding tarmac.

Nat flung the shield up to Cap, just as Daisy flung her arms out and shot into the air, stomach dropping out as she swung in an arc toward the van. She barely managed it, fingernails scraping against the harsh metal as she grappled for purchase. She was hanging off the lip of the van, legs swinging where the door should be. Her heart was in her throat, arms straining as she swung herself up before the two bots could emerge from the belly of the truck. She grappled to her feet as Steve rammed the shield into Ultron. He fell to his feet but send out some form of energy blast – forcefully tearing up a chunk of tarmac to block Nat’s path.

“Nat!” Daisy cried out, as spike of fear flooded through Daisy when Nat barrelled towards it. She managed to swerve, skidding the bike in an impressive manoeuvre, balancing on the front wheel. She breathed a sigh of relief and caught Nat’s gaze – but Nat looked panicked herself. Daisy frowned, as Nat’s panicked face formed the words _Daisy!_ –

Something hit her right in the chest, and she went flying. The wind was knocked right out of her in one long wheeze. She felt weightless for one spine chilling second then - her fall was broken as her back smashed into the windscreen of the car behind. Dull pain flared up her spine as the owner in the car screamed an ear piercing terrified shrieked. Ultron looked gloating as Cap followed, his body flung into the car next to her. Ultron clenched his fist. The car began to flip with his same energy force, but Daisy countered the attack, clenching her teeth at the strain to keep the car level with her counter vibrations. Cap wasn’t saved, the car he’d landed on flipping over in an arc, the cars behind following, barely missing Cap as they skidded upside down.

The grating of metal against tarmac was awful to her ears, as were the screams from the cars as they flew. Cap was up on his feet in a flash, leaping back up to challenge Ultron, Daisy couldn’t get a clear shot to blast him from without catching Steve as they sped away. The cars piled up around her and Daisy swore, leaping off the hood of the car as terrified screams arose from the upturned car carnage surrounding her.

“Daisy do you copy? Do you need back-up?” Nat’s panicked voice flooded through comms, “ _Daisy_!”

“All clear,” Daisy said, breath still knocked out of her, but a rush of affection flooded through her at Nat’s sudden loss of composure on her behalf, “I’ve lost sight of Ultron. Civilian casualties need evac – I’m gonna try help – _shit_.”

Daisy watched in horror as Ultron flipped another car behind him, blocking her way but the family van upturned and careened into onlookers. Daisy sent out a quake as she ran toward them, slowing down it’s trajectory – the car suspended in mid-air as a terrified Korean commuter trembled just below, hands raised to face certain catastrophe. She quaked the car backwards, righting it the right way up before it smashed back on the ground. An upturned car behind was full of screaming. Daisy rushed over just as a fire broke out from the engine.

“ _Get them out Daisy, Cap’s got Ultron. Clint can you draw out the guards?”_ Nat’s voice was back in mission-mode.

“ _Let’s find out,”_ Clint affirmed.

Daisy could hear machine gunshots from the quinjet in the distance, but she was focused on grasping the bloodied hand of the terrified woman in the flames. She yanked her out, checking her over for injuries – she would live.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” Daisy tried to comfort the hysterical woman, “Was there anyone with you?”

The woman didn’t speak English. Daisy felt with the vibrations, locating two small children from the wreckage. She got them out, quaking anything in her path – ripping through crumpled seats. Commuters around her gawked, holding phones out as they filmed her. She growled at one of them, ordering him to comfort the crying child in her arms.

The sound of sirens approached, and Daisy breathed a sigh of relief, glancing around her to see the rest of the wreckages. She pulled out two more casualties by the time the emergency services were able to rush to their rescue. They shot her surprised but thankful looks, awe in their faces as they took in the new superhero.

Daisy tampered down the uncomfortable feeling and looked around. She spotted an unfortunate moped rider gawking at the scene.

***

Daisy sped along the overpass on the stolen moped, following the carnage in Ultron’s wake under the bridge. She _did_ ask the guy for the moped but she’s fairly sure he didn’t understand her. Saving civilians would have won her superhero brownie points at least, even if stealing from one might take them away.

 _“The bots are headed back toward you Nat. So, whatever you’re going to do, do it now,”_ Clint warned.

 _“I’m going in, Cap can you keep Ultron occupied?”_ Nat murmured.

 _“_ _What do you think I've been doing?”_ Steve huffed, sounding exhausted. She could hear the distant screeching of a train in the background.

Daisy could see the truck ahead, just as Nat caught up to it, standing up on the bike and leaping into the vehicle. It swerved and crashed into a bunch of crates, Daisy skirted the discarded bottles, speeding up to be level with the edge of the truck.

“Nat, I’ve got eyes on you,” Daisy said, just as the two specs of Iron Legion bots sped from the sky down towards them, “Two bots incoming.”

The bots sped down toward the ground, Daisy reached out, sending a quake blast toward them. They scattered backward, flung through the air. The truck juddered, the whites of Nat’s eyes glancing up toward her before the bots circled back again.

Daisy prepared herself, but the bots ignored her, surging toward the bottom of the truck. She tried to reach out with an arm to quake the bots apart, but a piece of shrapnel appeared from nowhere. She ducked – it scraped the top of her ear, barely a whisper away from clarting her in the head.

The moped jerked, speeding out of control and she had to launch herself off to avoid a collision with a solid pillar. The ground came toward her fast and she tucked in with the roll, grunting at the impact as the tarmac scraped her cheek.

She could hear distant yells and the cocking of guns. The van was speeding toward a defence line of Korean cops. She cursed, rushing to her feet to sprint toward them and stop the van somehow, without setting off the stone, but she was too late. The van was lifted into the air by the pair of Iron Legion bots, surging into the air with Nat still inside.

A third bot shot down in front of her appearing from above, she ducked just as it swung an arm and grabbed her by the shoulder – slamming her into a pillar nearby.

 _“_ _The package is airborne. I have a clean shot,”_ Clint said, and Daisy could see past the bot to the quinjet in the direct path of the airborne truck.

“Negative!” Daisy yelled, evading the metal punch that cracked the cement pillar behind her, “Do NOT take the shot, Nat’s still in there!”

 _“_ _Why the hell is she...?”_ Clint retaliated. Daisy grappled with the bot, sensing a protective blend of vibranium buzzing beneath the metal, but she twisted – jerking the head right from its body. It fell apart at her feet.

“ _Just be ready,_ ” Nat interrupted, “ _I’m sending the package to you.”_

 _“How do you want me to take it?”_ Clint asked calmly.

_“Uhh, you might wish you hadn't asked that”._

Way up in the sky she spied the quinjet closing in on the truck, Nat obviously wrestling with the cradle inside.

In front of her the Korean cops had their guns raised, shouting commands at her, but they didn’t shoot. Likely didn’t know if she was an Avenger or not. There was no time for her to give back-up to Steve, but she could here the commotion through comms.

She raised her arms in peace to the cops, keeping her eyes fixed on the sky. Daisy saw the moment Ultron flew upwards the cradle, a spec streaking through the sky headed straight toward the truck and to Nat. Then suddenly, an explosion blasts through the air, red hot. Smoke obscuring the blip in the sky.

 _“Has anyone got eyes on Nat!?”_ Clint yelled, terror and fear in his voice for Nat, _“Cap!? Daisy!?”_

She rushed to the edge of the dock, hands shooting out beneath her to draw on the vibrations in the ground. A rumble proceeded her, cracks appearing beneath her as the force rattling her gauntlets with the strain. She built it up, gritting her teeth that felt like they’d shoot of her skull before she _pushed._

She shot up into the air, trajectory heading towards Ultron, she was climbing higher, the wind getting stronger, she pushed down more on the ground. Fighting to get more vibration underneath her. The smoke obscured her vision, her chest tight, gritting her teeth in determination as she sailed higher.

She saw it, Nat dangling in the arms of Ultron as the smoke cleared.

“I see her!” Daisy yelled back, barely able to garble out the words over the wind, that springs tears into her eyes, “Ultron has her!”

He was hovering, fighting against a faulty jet, but glancing around as if gloating. The quinjet swooped out of reach.

“Clint, if you have the package get it to Stark! Go!” Steve ordered.

Her method of flight was choppy and haphazard at best, but she managed to reach up and grapple one of Ultron’s legs.

“Get off!” Ultron huffed and kicked down at her like she’s a stray dog grappling onto his leg, kicking as swinging at Daisy’s purchase. She gripped tighter, hearing Agent May’s chiding about her lack of clear planning and irrational thinking as she holds on for dear life.

She tried to quake him apart like she had with the Iron Legion bots, but before she could even try Ultron reached out a blast. She could barely hear or see through the wind, but she could faintly tell Nat was yelling. He hit her in the shoulder as he lashed out, squishing her fingers and her grip slackened.

She was falling. Limbs flailing uselessly as she plummeted backward through the air, Ultron glanced down apathetically, and zoomed away with Nat captured in his arms.

Daisy could barely remember to cushion her fall – a free fall lasting a horribly long couple of seconds. She reached out, grateful for water to cushion her landing at least a little, a tidal wave crashing around her as she splashed into the river.

She plunged under, fighting to orient herself and kicking wildly to the surface she could barely see. She crashed through the surface, gasping and coughing as more water filled her lungs.

She can swim, just not very well. Not all the way out here in such a large body of water.

“Daisy!” Clint yelled, concern in his voice for her this time. She thought vaguely he must have seen her plummet to the ground, “Do you copy?”

“I’m alive. Take the cradle,” she managed to say, pushing down fear as she tread the water below and forced herself to keep calm and collected. Conserve energy, wait for rescue. Her limbs feel heavy, but she couldn’t be more grateful for skin-tight tactical suits and waterproof Stark tech. “Cap, some help might be good?”

“Where are you?” Steve asks.

Daisy glanced around, fighting to keep afloat in the choppy waters. If Nat were here, she’d probably tease her and call her ‘ _rybka_ ’ again, but Nat’s not here and she failed to stop Ultron. Daisy wasn’t sure how much of the panic and adrenaline is from the sudden expanse of water surrounding her, or of the knowledge that Nat is in Ultron’s clutches.

“In the river. Highway on my right.”

A small beeping sound pierced the still air from her right. She frowned, floating on her back so she could see that underwater. There was a red blinking light. It’s coming from her right gauntlet. She lifted it up and only then she could hear the faint and tinny robotic voice.

“ _Emergency situation detected. GPS systems activated. Would you like me to send co-ordinates?”_

She’s not sure whether to be touched by Starks’ innate desire to protect his team or pissed off that he’d placed an AI _and_ a tracker in her gauntlets.

“Send them.”

Within two minutes a blur appeared, and suddenly she was being wrenched out of the water. An uncomfortable g-forced pulled against her entire body as the wind ravaged her face, then as sudden as it appeared the world jerked to a halt. Suddenly she was on dry land, head spinning but glorious dirt at her feet. She would be concerned it was an attack from Ultron, if not for her double vision of Steve looking somewhat relaxed not them.

Pietro still had a hand steadying around her back, but he swayed a little, looking dead on his feet.

“Thanks dude,” Daisy said, clapping him on the back, “Batting for our team now, huh?”

He gave her a weary smile, plonking down onto a nearby chunk of debris. Daisy could barely register the fully extent of the wreckage behind – how much property damage can the Avengers manage in one day? Who cleans up? Certainly not SHIELD anymore.

“The Cradle?” Wanda turned to Daisy, eyes intense, “Did you get it?”

She nodded, eyeing Wanda cautiously, but their last-minute alliance didn’t surprise her. Something about the pair had screamed ‘misguided childhood seeking guidance’ rather than evil Nazi soldiers. With a quick glance over at Wanda, she determined she couldn’t be much older than a teenager anyway.

“He doesn’t have it,” she reassured Wanda, and turned to Steve, “But he has Nat.”

Her side ached and she was drenched, hair plastered to her forehead and teeth chattering despite the relative heat of the day. She needed to find Nat.

“Stark will take care of the cradle,” Steve assured the twins before levelling her with an assure nod, “We’ll get Nat back.”

“No Stark won’t take care of it,” Wanda argued.

“You don't know what you're talking about, Stark's not crazy,” Steve defended, jaw set tight. Daisy raised an eyebrow at his quick defence of the guy he seemed to forever be at odds with.

“No, he won’t,” Wanda rebutted, and she seemed very sure of herself, “He will do anything to make things right.”

“Ultron 2.0,” Daisy said, biting her lip, “It’s not impossible.”

“Stark come in,” Steve frowned, “Anyone on comms?”

“Ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it,” Wanda muttered, “Where do you think he gets that?”

*******

Nat came to sharply – a ringing in her ears, the smell of dirt and gasoline and smoke burning her nostrils. She was on the ground – it was stone, hard and paved underneath her prone body.

She pried her eyelids open, registering that the ringing wasn’t only in her head. Hammers were hammering metal in the distance, a great big vat of molten steel on her right, providing dim lighting for the dreary scene.

“I wasn’t sure you’d wake up,” Ultron drawled.

She staggered onto her elbow, side blossoming with the painful ache of bruise. She couldn’t remember much, only the wide desperate eyes of Daisy as she clung unto Ultron’s leg before the panicked surprised as she plummeted down to the ground. Then – now. Ultron must have knocked her out and carried her all the way to…wherever here was.

“I hoped you would, I wanted to show you something. I don't have anyone else,” Ultron continued, his voice dripping with self-pity. Nat winced, struggling to stay balanced on her trembling arm. “ _She_ abandoned me, hates me. Same as Stark. Both as bad as each other.”

Nat registered despite the pounding in her head that Ultron must’ve been talking about Daisy.

“Why create something just to destroy it?” Ultron mused. Nat shuffled, fingers scrambling about to find purchase on any sort of weapon. “As if I’m anything less than what they intended.”

Behind Ultron many other versions of him worked to build something, but she wouldn’t have a clue what it was. She was outnumbered. Badly.

“I think a lot about meteors, the purity of them…” Ultron monologued. If Nat weren’t so afraid of provoking the metal weapon, she’d scoff, but it was an excellent way to gather intel. She tried to catalogue his words and apply meaning to them, find out his play. “Boom!” he yelled, “The end. Start again. The world made clean for the new man to rebuild.”

He looked up from the parts he was tinkering with, red eyes glowing in the dim light as he cocked his head at her.

“I was meant to be new. I was meant to be beautiful. The world would've looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy. Instead, they'll look up in horror because of you. You've wounded me. I give you full marks for that. But, like the man said, "What doesn't kill me…”

Suddenly his body exploded into shards of shrapnel, a metal hard clamped around his heart. The parts fell away to reveal a towering version of Ultron. She crawled backward, desperate to get away from the greater danger, but even more desperate to position herself closer to the spare parts she’d noticed behind her.

“Just makes me stronger.”

She shuffled back until her head hit a box of spare electrical parts, Ultron took the chance to slide the grid closed – enclosing her into a make-shift cell.

“I hope she’ll come,” Ultron mused, peering at Natasha through the grid, “Witness the end of the world she helped destroy. Witness the end of _you._ ”

*******

Daisy followed the weary three as they trudged into the spare quinjet. The twins looked around in reserved awe at the high-tech specs of the futuristic aircraft. It wasn’t as large or high-tech as Starks’ main jet and resembled more of SHIELD’s current quinjet than the Avenger’s one. Daisy relaxed her shoulders as soon as the doors closed, surprised to find how tight her muscles had been coiled.

Her suit was still wet, and her boots left wet imprints on the metal, the squeaking sound awkwardly loud amidst the silence. She dropped into the fold-out seats with relief, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath before reaching for the tablet by the missile controls.

Steve emerged with an emergency blanket, draping it over her shoulders, she took it with a grateful smile, wrapping up tight to stave-off the damp cold seeping into her bones.

“Do you guys have any communication methods that might be off book?” Daisy asked him, “Any specific frequencies or…?”

Steve shook his head, “I wouldn’t know I’m afraid,” he checked his watch, “Barton might be back on base. Give him a call, he’ll know where to look.”

He left with a friendly pat on her shoulder, she shot him back a tight-lipped smile, turning her attention to the tablet. She tried to call Clint, but he wasn’t answering. She turned her attention to known SHIELD frequencies, but it was a hopeless task when she didn’t know if Nat was even conscious – let alone able to access equipment to get a message out.

Daisy felt Wanda’s presence sliding into the seat next to her, but she kept her eyes on the static waves from the channels. Some SHIELD chatter was coming through, but nothing relevant.

“You care about them,” Wanda said, her voice assured in her own observations. Daisy glanced up from her typing to acknowledge Wanda’s presence momentarily, before dropping her attention back to the scrolling signal frequencies.

“Hard not to,” Daisy answered honestly, a little un-nerved by Wanda’s ability to stare at the side of her head like she could read Daisy’s entire life story on her face. Maybe she could, she’d already been inside her mind once.

Wanda’s head cocked as though she were listening or _detecting_ something.

“Stay out of my head,” Daisy muttered darkly in warning, but she couldn’t feel the tendrils of Wanda’s power and her eyes were decidedly normal in her periphery. She had a specific vibration frequency that was… _chaotic,_ to say the least. She’d never felt it in anyone else before.

“I am not inside your head,” Wanda assured her, but had the sense to look apologetic, “I’m sorry. I would not wish to do that again.”

“Good,” Daisy remarked, but there was no malice in her tone, and she could see Wanda relax a little.

Across them Daisy could see Pietro listening in, ready to jump to his sister’s rescue if needed.

“You have not known them long,” Wanda pointed out, “Yet you fight for them…”

Daisy did look up at this, tearing her attention away from the fruitless backscatter channels. Wanda was searching her face, a certain vulnerability behind her hardened eyes and tightly controlled expression. The eyes of someone who couldn’t possibly comprehend such quick loyalty to a bunch of strangers, because why would it ever be worth fighting for someone you barely knew, when there was no-one fighting for you? Daisy wondered if it was only obvious to her because she knew that feeling too.

“We want the same thing,” Daisy said, “To protect people. Help people. Stop the bad guys from hurting more.”

Wanda nodded solemnly, “I thought Hydra and then Ultron was a good way to get back at Stark for…” she stopped, seeming to reconsider whether she wanted to continue. Daisy could feel the anger radiating from her, “I wanted to help protect my people, but they were not good.”

“You know, technically I used to be a cyber terrorist,” Daisy admitted, seeing the curious and amused tilt to Wanda’s head at that, “A hacking group called the Rising Tide. We’d leak mission secrets. Some from SHIELD, some even, from them,” she gestured her head to where Steve was piloting the quinjet, “I always thought we had a right to know these secrets, and the information I hacked had no consequences. No-one was going to die if I told them about an alien invasion cover-up. Now I know it put a lot of lives in danger.”

Wanda nodded, her face contemplative.

“SHIELD was easy to hate,” Daisy confessed, “When I had no trust in them.”

“I was under the impression that SHIELD was betrayed by Hydra. Perhaps your trust was not misplaced…” Wanda glanced toward Rogers at the front, a sneaky gleam in her eye – a secret shared in the curl of her lip as she looked back to Daisy, “You trust them now?”

“With my life.”

Wanda nodded and fell quiet. Daisy sensed an end to their discussion, turning back to the channels – waiting for Clint to finally pick up his damn phone. Wanda shifted, and spoke again.

“You are afraid of hurting the ones you love the most,” Wanda pointed out, “I find it…noble.”

Daisy did frown at that, feeling herself shutting down at the mention of the vision. She would never hurt Mack, or get back with Ward, so it was irrelevant.

“Why did you show me that?” Daisy asked instead, “That vision? Why?”

“I do not control what you see,” Wanda shrugged, “I have never been able to. It comes from somewhere…. else.”

“From the victim’s emotions?” Daisy inquired. She caught Wanda’s flinch at the word ‘victims’. 

“Perhaps.”

At least Daisy got the sense that Wanda wasn’t being cryptic on purpose, she was just as clueless to the extent of her powers as anyone else.

“You say you’re not an inhuman?” Daisy probed. Wanda shook her head. “Then how…?”

“I touched the sceptre,” Wanda said, “There was power there. Pietro and I were the only ones who could.”

Daisy’s confusion only deepened at that, if they were not genetically inhuman, then why did only the Maximoff twins survive and evolve?

Well, she supposed, the sceptre was Asgardian, and they have a magical hammer. Or well, Simmons would adamantly tell her that ‘magic wasn’t real, it’s science’. However, all bets were off with where aliens were involved.

So, she nodded.

“My team wanted to bring you two in to help you,” Daisy said, “I could still help you get control of your powers, learn what you can do in a safe environment-”

“I appreciate the offer,” Wanda shot her down, “But I have only known control.”

Daisy sighed, “It’s still worth considering the option.”

She could tell Wanda was not convinced and a small smile tugged on her lips. Wanda reminded her a lot of her younger self – determined that she had everything under control and didn’t need external help at all. It must be disorientating to say the least – Hydra to Ultron to the Avengers within a week. This must be how Coulson felt bringing her naïve, untrained self onto the Bus only a few years ago. Protective, worried, concerned.

“What will you do after this?” Wanda inquired.

Daisy was spared from her reply – she hadn’t even formed one yet – by Clint finally picking up.

“Have you got anything?” she rushed out before he could start.

“Tapped into an old analogue frequency,” Clint said, “Morse code. I’ve got co-ordinates. She’s in Sokovia.”

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief, slumping in the chair. At least now they had a location, they can form a plan. Nat might be okay. She might be unharmed.

“We’ll rescue your girlfriend-in-distress soon, sweetheart,” Clint teased. Daisy blushed at the idea of Nat being her _girlfriend_ , although she could hear the concern still underlying his voice.

“I’m sure The Black Widow can handle herself,” Daisy shot back.

She could sense his smile even if she couldn’t see it.

“Right you are, kid. Right you are.”

He exited the call and Daisy finally leant her head back onto the headrest.

They’d get her back.


End file.
